Come Home With Me
by MsKeller
Summary: Sasuke's back in Konoha and has an offer Naruto can't seem to refuse. NaruSasu. Warning: Some adult content.
1. Strangers

Story: Come Home With Me

Chapter: Strangers

Author: Sarah Keller

BETA: Rasengan22

Genre: Romance/Psychological Drama

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto hence why this is a FANFIC

Warnings: hint of boyxboy, language, use of ramen as a weapon

Pairings: NaruSasuNaru

Author's note: For clarification purposes, since it isn't stated in the text. Sasuke and Naruto are 18-19 years old.

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Sasuke wasn't sure if he'd make it through the full six months. He'd been back in Konoha for only three weeks, but the constant following was already getting on his nerves. He couldn't help but draw comparisons between the ANBU following him here and Orochimaru's subordinates following him around Sound and that had been damn creepy. He was distantly amazed the constant following, the incessant watching, hadn't driven him insane. Sasuke was darkly amused when he realized that his fan club had apparently served a purpose in desensitizing him from stalkers, or rather, "guards."

He'd also have to thank his teammates for keeping the Uchiha compound from getting completely torn down. Oh yes, some of the more neglected buildings had been ordered torn down, but for the most part, everything was still where he left it. Walking through one of the shabbier parts of town, Sasuke suddenly realized he'd never seen Naruto's apartment. He vaguely recalled that it was around here somewhere, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember where. Suddenly, turning down a street, Sasuke headed for Naruto's second home, the ramen shop. And sure enough, that's where he found the blond.

Naruto must have sensed him coming up because he turned around when Sasuke walked toward him. Gulping down the noodles hanging out of his mouth, Naruto patted the stool next to his, indicating for Sasuke to sit down. Once Sasuke had complied, Naruto gave him a big grin along with one of the ramen bowls he seemed to be hoarding. Instantly, Naruto went back to eating, but after a few seconds he realized Sasuke hadn't started digging into his offered portion. Looking up at the Uchiha, Naruto noted that Sasuke was staring at the bowl with a look somewhere between horror and shock.

"It's not poisoned, teme." Naruto stated, gesturing with his chopsticks. He was only half serious. Naruto still wasn't sure where he stood with the returned prodigy, but since Sasuke had yet to go on about the whole "avenge the clan" and "must kill you for power" thing, Naruto took that as a sign of hope. Sasuke glanced up at the shorter teen and glared.

"In order to defeat that man, I have to kill you," Sasuke's glare was intense, "Not eat your dinner." Naruto gulped and the seconds ticked by as the two stared each other down. A sharp _crack_ broke the silence as Sasuke broke his chopsticks in half. "But since its not miso, I'll let you live." And with that Sasuke started eating his noodles, the left side of his mouth twitching with a repressed grin. Once again, a few seconds ticked by as Naruto watched Sasuke eat. His eyes were glazed over as his mind tried to decipher what had just happened. And just like the _snap_ of the chopsticks being broken apart, Naruto was back to normal.

"Holy shit! Did you just make a joke?" Naruto pointed his chopsticks at Sasuke accusingly, his eyes wide with horror. Sasuke stopped eating for the briefest of moments, giving Naruto just enough time to see him smirk. "AHHHH! You did! Holy fucking shit! You've lost your mind!" Letting out a woeful wail Naruto jumped Sasuke, sending them both to the ground. The surprised Uchiha landed with a soft grunt. Looking up at the blond that was now plastered to his chest, Sasuke had to bite his lip in order to keep from laughing. Naruto was hugging Sasuke tightly, blissfully ignoring the fact that he had ended up with an upturned bowl of ramen on his head.

"Oh poor Sasuke! His mind finally snapped after years of being lusted after by women and snake men with long tongues. When all he wanted was to be lusted after by his brother!" Naruto bemoaned. Patting the dark locks and dragging his body up Sasuke's, Naruto forced tears to come to his eyes, bringing his face within inches of the Uchiha's. Naruto tucked his face into the crook of Sasuke's neck and let out a heartfelt sob causing the dark haired teen's eyes to widen in horror. _All this because I cracked one little joke!_ Sasuke was desperately trying to keep a blush from spreading across his features, which became that much more difficult when Naruto suddenly straddled the dark haired teen's thighs. Naruto's body shook as he continued to "sob" and hoarsely declare Sasuke insane. Grabbing a hold of Naruto's shoulders, Sasuke pushed Naruto away only to be greeted with the blond's foxy grin. That was the only warning Sasuke got before Naruto dumped another bowl of ramen on his head. The broth and noodles slid down his face and hair, some pieces slipping beneath Sasuke's dark shirt. A grand total of two seconds went by before Sasuke blew.

"NARUTO!" The boy in question jumped off and dashed for the exit, Sasuke right on his heels. The cook's angry cry landing on deafened ears as the teens took to the rooftops. Naruto's maniacal laugh carrying through the wind caused the ANBU currently on Sasuke's detail to sigh in defeat. Turning to his partner, Genma held his hand up in a fist. Once the other had done like wise they shook their fists up and down three times. Genma smirked when the other chose to change his fist by extending his pointer and middle fingers. Genma's still intact fist slammed onto the other's "scissors."

"I'll pay, you follow," Genma said pointing after the two teens. The other ANBU member grumbled but did as told while Genma jumped down to pay the ramen bill. He couldn't help but whistle as he took his merry time. He knew Naruto would "entertain" Sasuke for a while, so there was no reason to rush.

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At least Sasuke had learned where Naruto lived. The dark haired teen currently had his head under the faucet of Naruto's kitchen sink. His head was relatively clean, but he could still feel noodles under his shirt. Pulling the garment off, he watched as pieces of cooled noodles fell to the ground. He was going to need a shower when he got home. Deciding that the dobe owed him at least a shirt, Sasuke used his to dry his hair, mindful to keep the noodle stained parts from his now noodle free hair. Walking into the living room, Sasuke discovered Naruto just leaving his bathroom. The blond had on a pair of lounge pants and a towel wrapped around his head. Upon closer inspection, Sasuke noted that little bowls of ramen adorned the pants. Sasuke's snicker drew Naruto's attention.

"You owe me a shirt, dobe." Sasuke said walking past Naruto to what he assumed was the blond's bedroom. As he passed the shorter teen, Sasuke could feel the heat radiate off the other boy. Never one to over analyze relations, Sasuke chose to ignore examining the butterflies in his stomach at the not-quite contact. If he hadn't been so engrossed in shoving his way into Naruto's bedroom to find a shirt, he would have noticed the way Naruto froze as he had passed him. Naruto followed Sasuke into his bedroom and watched as the Uchiha began rummaging through his closet.

"Hold your damn horses, teme. I'll get you one." Naruto pushed Sasuke out of the way and grabbed a sky blue long-sleeve shirt out of the closet. Yanking the dirtied shirt out of Sasuke's hand, Naruto replaced it with the clean one. Sasuke watched slightly intrigued as Naruto dumped his shirt in the hamper and turned back to his closet and pulled out a simple white undershirt.

"You're going to clean it, too?" Sasuke inquired as he pulled on the shirt. Naruto looked up a bit shocked, but then shrugged.

"Like you said, I owe you. After all you didn't plan on getting attacked by ramen when you sat down." Naruto grinned and sat on his bed. Removing the towel, he shook his head to rid it of the excess water. "You must have been pretty bored to seek me out." He commented as he pulled the white shirt over his head.

"What makes you think I was bored?" Sasuke asked deciding he was just going to sit on the ground instead of joining Naruto on the bed.

The dark haired teen did use the bed to lean on though. His right shoulder ended up less then a foot away from Naruto's legs. Sasuke looked around the room intently, taking in the chest of drawers and shelves. There really wasn't much around. A few books on a shelf, no lamps or knick-knacks scattered about. The room didn't look lived in all that much and something about that perplexed the young Uchiha. He was suddenly brought out of his musings when a towel landed on his head. Sasuke jerked his head around to glare at the smiling blond who patted down the towel a few times before tossing it into the hamper across the room.

"You were bored." Naruto stated. His voice said it was fact, nothing more.

"I was bored." Sasuke agreed sighing. Naruto dropped onto the floor next to Sasuke and took a long look at the other teen.

"Sasuke . . ." Naruto began. Sasuke turned to look at the blond and noted the worried look on the boy's face. "Where do things go from here?"

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked, his eyes darkening just a bit.

"Things aren't going to return to normal. Even though you returned here on your own two feet, that doesn't mean everything is going to be the same way it was when you left."

"I know that, dobe. Plus, as I recall, you did some heavy pushing to get me back."

"Sooo . . . where do we go from here?"

"Actually, that's why I came looking for you. I want to thank you and Sakura for helping keep the Uchiha complex mostly in one piece."

"Well, I'll be damned. From jokes to apologies. I'm seriously worried about your sanity, Sasuke."

"Like you said, things are different. You and me included. And the apology is only the start." Sasuke smirked at the blond. As stupid as Naruto could be sometimes, he knew danger when it was in front of him and he watched the Uchiha warily as the teen's smirk turned into a grin.

"As a reward for helping to maintain the Uchiha estates, I'd like to offer you one of the homes there."

One second ticked by, then five. By the time 30 seconds had gone by, Sasuke wasn't sure if Naruto was conscious anymore. Sure, the blond's eyes were open, but that didn't mean his mental processes didn't shut off from overload, either.

"You WHAT!"

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"I can't believe I agreed to this." Naruto stated flatly. He put his hands on his hips as he glared at the dark haired Uchiha that was lounging against a wall. "The least you could do is help carry things."

"I helped Sakura move in already. I'm tired." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Which makes no sense since Sakura has super strength now." Naruto was less then pleased. Sure, he had conned a few people into helping but still. Sasuke was the one who said he was making things up to his teammates by giving them homes.

"Well, at least you can reason things out now." Sasuke's smirk grew as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Anyways, I'm just showing my faith in your ability to stand on your own two feet now."

"Bullshit!"

"Tch, you're so troublesome, Naruto. Help out, this is your junk." Shikamaru dropped what had to be the smallest box Naruto had onto the coffee table. The lazy jounin promptly fell onto the couch and closed his eyes. Thankfully, the place came furnished. Naruto was happy to get rid of his old crap. That meant less to move but still, Sasuke could help out. It's not like the ass had anything better to do.

"Actually, I think this is the last of it," said Sakura, as she skipped through the door. The girl had been on cloud nine since Sasuke had offered her a place in the Uchiha complex. Naruto watched as the pink haired medic nin balanced three large boxes in one hand and two in the other. Pretending to ignore the fact that Shikamaru was on the couch, she dropped two of the boxes on top of him, while setting the other three on the floor. Shikamaru grunted and pushed the boxes off.

"Hey! Watch it!" Naruto yelled at Shikamaru. The lazy teen's only response was a small grunt as he crossed his feet and put his hands behind his head.

"Geez, Naruto, what are you going to do with all this space?" Sakura asked coming up to stand next to him. She looked past him into what appeared to be a room for formal entertaining.

"Don't know. It's just a place to sleep as far as I'm concerned. Sasuke's the one who picked it out." Naruto shrugged.

"Well, now we're neighbors. And since I don't want you to eat just ramen, you're going to have to come to my place a few times a week for dinner." Sakura said while swatting him on the back of the head.

"Ahhhh, Sakkuuuuurra!" Naruto complained.

"No whining, Naruto, I mean it. I'm betting part of the reason you agreed to live here is to use the private training grounds. So if you want to train more, you need to eat better."

"Yes, mama." Naruto acquiesced, earning another thump on the head. Sasuke snickered.

"Hey, you're still on probation. Don't think I am unable to make you come over to dinner, too. Just think of all the fan girls I can invite." Sakura eyed him evilly. Immediately, Sasuke's face went back to the indifferent mask, but not before he shuddered slightly.

"Ah but Sakura-san, I would be honored to share dinner with only you." Sasuke said, trying to channel all the sexiness every woman said he possessed. Apparently, though, it didn't work on her. Perhaps he was doing something wrong.

"That's not going to work on me, mister. I'm taken." Sakura declared succinctly. Granted, her eyebrow twitched ever so slightly at the seductive quality to Sasuke's voice. But Sakura had decided that she had to grow up and really look at her feelings for the Uchiha when they found him willingly serving Orochimaru. After all the thoughts on the matter, she had decided to find companionship elsewhere. It had been difficult, but Sakura had been able to find happiness in the oddest place. She wondered how Sasuke would take to Lee being a neighbor once the two of them decided on a date and got married. Humming happily, Sakura left to head back to her new house. Lee would be over soon. She had made it very clear that he was going to be helping to unpack and decorate. After all, he'd be moving in one day.

Sasuke watched Sakura leave with an odd expression on his face. He hadn't realized Sakura was involved in a relationship. Looking up at Naruto he was shocked to discover the blonde striking the nice guy pose Lee and Gai did all the time. _Wait, Lee?_ The taijutsu master had been gone on a mission for the past month, so Sasuke hadn't seen him. Therefore, it could be a possibility. Lee and Sakura. Sasuke couldn't help but grin at the combination until he realized what that really meant. A look of pure horror crossed the young Uchiha's face, and Naruto broke down laughing.

"Yep, they've been together for about a year. I think it's more serious than Sakura lets on about. So if things go well, Lee will also be your neighbor." Sasuke started to look panicked.

"Put the poor guy out of his misery." Shikamaru spoke up from the couch. Naruto grinned before turning back to Sasuke.

"Don't worry, at least he doesn't wear the green leotard anymore." Sasuke let out a breath of relief. Naruto grinned and patted Sasuke on the back like he was comforting a child confronted with the boogeyman. Sasuke scowled and shook Naruto off.

"Have fun unpacking." Sasuke said before sauntering off. "And remember, part of the conditions in letting you live here is that you're going to help me repair the grounds and other buildings."

"Yeah, yeah. I think the hag has a mission for me tomorrow, but I'll keep up my end of the deal." Naruto waved goodbye to the dark haired teen as he went up to the couch and smacked Shikamaru on the head. "You, help me unpack or go sleep elsewhere. I'm not a fricking hotel."

As Sasuke walked out the front sliding doors, he heard Shikamaru's "so troublesome" and saw a greenish blur stop in front of Sakura's new house. The main house was directly to the right of Naruto's place, just across a small street. Directly facing Naruto's place, across the main street, was Sakura's new home. The two houses Naruto and Sakura had been given were much bigger than the average houses. But since they were so close to the main house, that wasn't surprising. They were his neighbors now. One on the right, and one on the left. Neighbors. The Uchiha complex now had life in it, instead of death.

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There are pics that go with this fanfic, to see them you need to go to my profile and follow the links.


	2. Aquaintances

Story: Come Home With Me

Chapter: Aquaintances

Author: Sarah Keller

BETA: Rasengan22

Genre: Romance/Psychological Drama

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto hence why this is a FANFIC

Warnings: still a hint of boyxboy, half nekkie Sasuke, SakuraxLee

Pairings: NaruSasuNaru

Author's note: For clarification purposes, since it isn't stated in the text. Sasuke and Naruto are 18-19 years old.

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Tomorrow the six-month probation would be up. Sasuke had made a great deal of headway in clearing the private training grounds and checking all the other buildings in the Uchiha district. After a thorough inspection, he had decided to tear down a few more buildings and now was planning on making a few small parks throughout the area. Sasuke figured if Sakura and Lee had their way, children would be running through the streets again. He wasn't too sure on how he felt about that, but he would attempt to make the transition from ghost town to family friendly place as smooth as possible for the couple. After all, he owed Sakura a lot.

And he had done all this without the dobe's help. It would figure the blond would be shipped off on a long-term mission the day after he moved in. It had been over a month before Sasuke decided to take it upon himself and finished unpacking Naruto's things. Surprisingly, it had taken less than a day to unpack Naruto's sorry excuse for possessions. Apparently the lack of possessions hadn't been exclusive to the blond's bedroom. Most of his clothes and bathroom supplies had already been unpacked. There were only a handful of other boxes. A rather large one held an expensive cooking set and a few other boxes held weapons and the various tools used to keep them in fighting shape.

When Sasuke had finished, the only things that could have been considered personal mementos were a silly looking sleeping cap and a few framed pictures. All the pictures were of an older Naruto with friends and teachers. As far as Sasuke could tell, the one that dated back the farthest was a picture of Naruto and Iruka from after the blond's graduation from the academy. At first, Sasuke thought that was strange but then he recalled what he knew of the teen's childhood. _Of course there was no pictures of Naruto as a child, who was there to take them? No one._ And suddenly Sasuke realized what had felt so off about Naruto's apartment. There had been no prized possessions; none of those things children and adolescents covet as treasures. Everything Naruto had served some type of practical purpose. The books were all about ninja techniques and training. One book had been about meditation, though, and that gave Sasuke an idea.

Going back to the main house, Sasuke worked his way through the various traps and tricks until he managed to get into the main family vault. After the massacre, anything that was thought to have value was put into one of the half dozen vaults hidden throughout the compound. The main vault, which was under the main house, held all of the most valuable objects. Sasuke had to stop for a moment after he entered the vault. He could place everything in this room; he knew the story behind every bowl and wall painting and for a few moments all those memories made it hard for him to breath. Quickly grabbing what he wanted, he headed back to Naruto's home. In the back corner of Naruto's house was a small three-mat room. He decided it wouldn't take much to transform the room into a meditation studio, and he doubted that Naruto would have much use for the room otherwise.

Sasuke carefully set about checking the sliding panels that opened into the back garden. The doors were a bit sticky, but after about an hour he had fixed them so that they worked perfectly. The garden wasn't much to look at right now, but he had some free time, perhaps he'd see if Sakura wanted some help with her garden, too. After he was done cleaning a bit and setting up the various objects he had brought from the vault, he went back out to grab a few more things. Once outside he noticed Sakura had come home and was setting pots of plants outside on the front porch.

"Sakura." Sasuke said approaching her. The pink haired girl looked up and smiled at Sasuke.

"What have you been up to? You're all dirty." She pointed out. Then she noticed that Naruto's door was still open.   "Did Naruto come home?" She asked a bit alarmed. "I'm sure Tsunade would have said something to me."

"No, no. The dobe's not home, I just decided to finish unpacking his things for him."

"That bored, hmm?" Sasuke smiled slightly and nodded.

"I hadn't realized he didn't have much of anything." Sasuke said, noticing how Sakura's eyes darkened at that. "So I decided to give him a few things to fill the place up. If you want you can have a few things, too."

"Things? What things?" Sakura was intrigued; she stepped down until she was eye level with the young man in front of her.

"Stuff put away in the vaults. I was making a meditation room for Naruto with some of the stuff in the main vault." Sakura's eyes had gone wide at the mention of a vault and curiosity was taking a firm root.

"I'm not sure I'd be comfortable taking any of that, but I'd like to see the vault." She said carefully. Sasuke nodded with that little half smile.

"That's fine. I might need some help moving some things, and you can feel free to have whatever you like."

By the end of the day Naruto had the basics to make a meditation room, the blond would have to put it together the way he wanted. There was also a smattering of other objects throughout the main rooms that Naruto would be using as well as a few decorative pieces. Sakura had even given in and taken a few things after Sasuke had assured her he would like to see them have use again. After making plans to start working on fixing up the gardens, Sasuke and Sakura parted ways. Sasuke had gone off to check a few other buildings before calling it quits for the day. It was later that night, while Sasuke was in bed that he realized Sakura had been giving him this odd knowing smile the entire time they were together. Once again deciding not to look to closely at that, he fell into a fitful sleep.

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"I'm sorry, but this is the only way to build up trust again, Sasuke." Tsunade said staring at the young man standing in the middle of her office. The teen didn't look pleased, but if he had expected anything more then a C-rank mission he was deluding himself.

"No, I understand, Hokage-sama." Sasuke shifted uncomfortably. He was going to get only genin level missions for the next few months until they decided it was safe to test him and gauge his real skill level. He wasn't too shocked by it, but he was a tad annoyed that they were only going to let him do serious training under supervision from one of the jonins. He found himself hoping that Sakura would pass the next jounin test so he could train more often.

"You can take your time on those missions, they just need to be done by the end of the week." Tsunade said while nodding to the scroll Sasuke held.

"Understood. Thank you, Hokage-sama." He turned to leave, gripping the scroll in his hand a tad too tightly.

"Do you have anything you wish to inquire, Sasuke?" The question threw him off a bit. He looked at the blond Hokage quizzically.    "Is there anything you wish to know?" _about a certain person_, she added silently. Apparently, Sasuke caught on and a look of pure confusion crossed his face. _She's asking about the dobe?_ Granted the teen had been gone for almost five months, but that wasn't hugely abnormal for a long-term mission. Sasuke shrugged and bowed, leaving the room without another word. Tsunade sighed before an evil grin spread out across her face.

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It was another two weeks before Naruto returned. Sasuke didn't really have much to do. The list of missions the Hokage kept giving him at the starts of the weeks never was enough to keep him occupied for more than two days. Currently, he was on his way to the hardware store to pick up more sealant. In his free time he had decided to reseal and repair the wall surrounding the Uchiha complex. He found it slightly amusing that he had done more genin level missions in the past seven months than he had in the entire time he had been a genin. Well, actually he was still a genin, but that was only a technicality. As he passed through the market, he heard a murmuring that could only mean the gossip mill was in over drive. Try as hard as he might to ignore the people, he still picked up bits of conversations.

"Not a scratch on him."

"Killed an entire enemy ANBU squad."

"The little monster returned."

That last bit gave him pause. He turned to the woman who had said that and glared hard. The woman picked up on the stare and looked up at him only to turn away quickly, a look of fear crossing her face. He smirked smugly and wondered how Naruto would react to the improvements made on his house, especially to the painting Sasuke had put into the meditation room.

The shop owner at the hardware store noticed something different about the Uchiha as he bought more of the sealant. As the young man left the store with his four cans of sealant, the owner finally put his finger on it. The young Uchiha heir was walking with an extra spring in his step.

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Naruto was pretty sure he could go to sleep right now and not wake up for a week. He had turned in his report, been questioned by Tsunade and parted ways with his teammates in less then two hours. Finally free to go home, Naruto started walking on autopilot until he realized that he was headed in the wrong direction. Re-directing himself, he made his way to the Uchiha compound. As he neared the main gates he noticed a dark haired young man slathering something onto the large wooden door. Naruto's heart sped up a bit at the sight of Sasuke's back muscles straining underneath his dark blue shirt. Part of him had wondered if the Sasuke would still be here when he came back and now that part of him was jumping for joy at the sight of the Uchiha.

"You look like shit." Naruto snapped out of his daze at the sound of Sasuke's voice. Apparently during some point Sasuke had turned around and was now staring at Naruto.

"And yet I feel like shit run over, I must look better than I thought." Naruto threw back, moving past the other man.

"Hn."

Naruto was half expecting something more but when nothing else came he turned around and noticed that Sasuke had turned back to his work. Despite his need to sleep, Naruto didn't want to leave just yet.

"What are you doing, teme?" Sasuke looked up at Naruto's voice. He took in the slightly slurred words and the glazed over look in those baby blues before turning back to the gate.

"Go get some sleep, dobe. You'll find out tomorrow when you help me out." Sasuke said with a smirk. Naruto smiled a bit and did as he was told. _It was good to be home._

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Despite his words, Sasuke didn't wake Naruto up when he started back on the wall the next morning. Sasuke had been being kind when he told Naruto he looked like shit. In truth, the boy had looked like a living corpse. The normally tanned skin was drawn and pale, his brightly colored hair limp and dirty. A part of Sasuke that he didn't want to dwell on had felt pained at seeing the normally energized blond walking around with dark bags under his eyes. The voice in the back of his mind had demanded that Sasuke find out just what that mission had entailed, but instead, he had playfully ordered the nin to bed. When Naruto had smiled at that, Sasuke felt a little relief. And once again, no analyzing of what that meant had occurred. Damn what's underneath the underneath, at this moment he was more concerned with resealing the north wall.

"Did you see Naruto?" Sakura asked coming up behind him. There was an interesting clinking noise and Sasuke turned around to see that Sakura had brought out iced tea with her. Wiping his brow, he took a long gulp of the offered glass before answering.

"Yeah, looks like shit run over." He added that last bit with a smirk.

"Sounds like you talked to him, too." Sakura pointed out. "I kinda snuck into his house and left some medical supplies for him. Didn't even move while I was in there."

"I'd be surprised if he woke up at all today." Sasuke reached for the pitcher of tea only to realize it was one of the things Sakura had claimed for herself out of the vault. A small smile tugged at his lips as he poured himself another glass. "You didn't need to prove to me that you were going to use it."

"I wasn't, not really. You've been out here for a while, and I thought it was the perfect time to put it to use." Sakura beamed at him as he drained the glass and set it down. "Anyways, I actually came out here to talk to you about something else." Sasuke could tell Sakura was nervous so he could guess what this was about. He said nothing and instead waited for her to continue. "I . . . uh, I mean, . . . Well Lee and I, we, uhh." Sakura looked at Sasuke and as far as she could tell he was simply looking at her with mild interest. "LeeandIpickedadateandwearegettingmarried!" She suddenly declared. Sasuke chuckled.

"Despite the fact that I was able to decipher that, why don't you take a deep breath and try again?" Sasuke said with a small smile.

"You . . . you understood that and you're not mad?" Sakura was confused; she was so sure he would freak at having Lee as a neighbor. The look he was giving her said he was more amused than angry. Perhaps she really wasn't clear enough. "Lee and I will be getting married in about six weeks. He and I . . . uh, we were hoping to stay in the house you gave me?"

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at the obvious question mark on the end of that statement. "Sakura, I would be happy if the two of you stayed here. It would mean all that work I put into the small parks will be used when the two of you decide to have kids." Sakura looked dumbfounded for a few seconds before sputtering.

"THAT'S why you did that?" She asked incredulously.

"Partly. The buildings had to come down, and I figured that with the way you and Lee had been progressing it was only a matter of time. It was a logical conclusion and there needed to be more greenery around here." Sasuke shrugged. Tears welled up in the pink haired teen's eyes. Without warning she jumped and hugged him. Sasuke was eternally thankful she didn't add chakra to the tight embrace before he got a loud squeal in his ear.

"Oh, I can't wait to tell Lee!" She turned to speed off, but then remembered the tea.

"I'll take care of it, don't worry." Sasuke waved her away and the medic nin didn't need another push, she took off to find her fiancé, leaving Sasuke in her dust.

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Sasuke was just setting the tea tray and its contents on Sakura's porch when a light came on in Naruto's house. Deciding to wait and see how long it took the dobe, Sasuke took a seat next to the tray. It was a good five minutes before a second light came on upstairs. But that seemed to trigger something as several more lights flickered on. Sasuke heard some muffled cursing and pounding as Naruto ran downstairs. Getting up, Sasuke walked to the side of the house that faced the mansion and waited for Naruto to discover the meditation room. It wasn't long before every light in the downstairs was on, a string of curses following each light being turned on. However, when the light came on in the meditation suite there was dead silence. Something in the back of Sasuke's mind started to panic, wondering if it had all been too much causing the blond to have a stroke. But that voice quieted when he heard Naruto shriek.

"SASUKE!" The blond must have left the house through the garden because the next thing Sasuke knew was the gate to the garden being thrown open and said blond stalking out into the street with only a pair of bright blue boxers on.

"You called?" Sasuke relaxed against the garden wall and crossed his arms over his chest. Naruto's ears were practically steaming as he stalked over to the Uchiha.

"WHAT did you DO to my house?" Naruto's pointing finger came dangerously close to hitting Sasuke's nose.

"I believe I fixed a few of the doors and dusted." Sasuke stated calmly.

"That's not what I mean and you know it!"

"What, so I added a few things." Sasuke shrugged.

"A few things? You practically decorated my house. Where did all that crap come from?" Naruto demanded. He suddenly regretted his words when Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"That _stuff_ is not _crap_." Sasuke stated carefully. "That all came from the various vaults I have access to. I figured that it be better to put all of it use rather then leave it to rot in the vaults. Furthermore, I _did not_ decorate your house. I decorated _one_ room and left maybe a dozen or so things throughout the house."

"But, if it's your family's things why . . .?" Naruto looked confused as Sasuke straightened from the wall.

"Like I said, no one else is going to use it. If you really don't like it I'll give you access to the vaults so you can pick your own things, fine?" Sasuke stared hard at the still slightly confused blond.

"But, it's . . ." Naruto looked anywhere but at the teen in front of him. He had gone from pissed at finding _someone_ had messed with his things to slightly sorry at having blown the whole thing out of proportion.

"Yes?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"It's too expensive, I can buy my own things." _One day_, he added silently before gathering his anger to him and lashing out. "Besides there is nothing wrong with what I have already!"

"I'm not going to repeat myself, keep it or return it to the vaults. And I never said there was anything wrong with your _crap_, if I had felt that way I would have tried tossing it out." Naruto had to admit that he had a point, but it still felt weird having expensive Uchiha property in his house, even if the house was also technically Uchiha property. "Listen, if it bugs you so much, I can always start charging you rent."

Rent? Naruto thought about that a bit. _Yeah, rent would be good, cheap rent, but not really cheap._ Naruto had to stop that train of thought when he suddenly started confusing himself.

"Why don't you just think about it tonight. It's late and I'm in desperate need of a shower and sleep. I'll wake you up in the morning so you can help me finish with the walls."

Naruto simply nodded, a sign that his little bout of energy was winding down and his brain had already shut off. Throwing a wave over his shoulder, Sasuke walked through the large gates that separated the mansion from the rest of the Uchiha compound. All Naruto could do was watch the dark haired teen walk away. As he stared at Sasuke's retreating back, Naruto suddenly realized that the teen's shirt was hanging out of the back pocket of his shorts. Naruto simply stared at the way Sasuke's shoulder blades moved beneath the pale skin until he disappeared from view. He shook his head to clear it of what could only be fatigue-induced thoughts. Turning around he came face to face with the smiling pink medic nin that lived across the street and gave an involuntary shriek.

"Geez, Sasuke wasn't kidding, you do look like shit. You were only on a B-ranked mission, what could have possible happened to make you look this bad."

"That's classified information." Naruto stated as he turned back to his gate and walked into the now beautifully kept garden.

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Sakura inquired alarmed. Naruto didn't say anything causing the young woman to gasp. "Does Sasuke know?"

"Not that I'm aware. Tsunade said she'd talk to him about it in the next couple of days." Naruto sat down on the porch that separated the garden from the house. The paneled sliding doors that lead to the meditating room was still wide open from when Naruto had stormed out of the house. Sakura didn't sit down but instead put her hand to the blond's forehead before reaching for his wrist.

"Was it . . .?"

"No, two other's I haven't seen before."

"Well, you're in one piece and safely home. Just remember to take those pills I left by your bed." Naruto nodded and smiled up at Sakura.

"I think I should be more worried about people coming and going from my house without permission."

"Well, I think it could be worse than just Sasuke and I coming and going. Anyways, are you saying you don't like the presents Sasuke picked out for you?" Sakura asked looking into the meditation room and staring at the large painting she had helped Sasuke move into the room. Naruto turned to look at it as well.

"No, its just weird. Plus, you know how well I generally take getting presents."

"I know, the thought did cross my mind that I should tell him that you don't like getting unexpected presents when we moved some of those things in."

"Ah, so you were in on it. You'd think I'd love getting gifts, but as much fun as I get out of being the most surprising ninja, I really don't like getting surprises."

"With the type of surprises you got as a kid, I'm not shocked that you see them as a challenge or insult, but I think its safe to say that Sasuke means well."

"Hmm."

"Go get some sleep Naruto, maybe you'll look like crap instead of shit by tomorrow." She said happily and turned to walk away.

"What's the bloody difference?" Sakura paused at the gate and turned around,

"Severity?" And with that, she was gone.

Naruto sighed. He really was too tired to socialize right now; he _did_ feel sleepy despite having slept for over 24 hours already. Naruto reasoned that the fox must be behind this hibernation of sort. His teammates on the last mission had been impressed that Naruto could still stand after using so much chakra much less get back to Konoha and his bed of his own volition. _The fox. _ Naruto stood up and walked into the meditation room, making sure to close the sliding doors after him. Sitting on the floor behind a small table that held some incense was a floor to ceiling painting of a large fox.

The fox in the painting had only one tail, and had a noble quality to it. Instead of violence the dark eyes of the magnificent creature held only wisdom. The vulpine was sitting on its stomach with one of its front paws crossed over the other. Behind it, large magnificent red and orange flowers bloomed. Naruto had never seen anything like it, and as he gazed at it he felt his heart get heavy. The young shinobi's hand came up, and his fingers ghosted over the dried paint. Before he really knew what was going on he felt tears run down his cheeks. Years of being avoided and hated for having the fox sealed inside him seemed to fade away while he was in this room. In this room, foxes could be noble; they could be beautiful and wise. _Is this what Sasuke sees in me? _ Several other thoughts ran through his mind as he turned out the light and went to bed. He didn't bother turning out any other lights besides the ones in his bedroom and bathroom. When he finally fell into a deep slumber he dreamed of red and orange flowers instead of blood and tears.

-----------------------

Once again, pictures from this story can be seen through the links on my profile.


	3. Friends

Story: Come Home With Me

Chapter: Friends

Author: Sarah Keller

BETA: Rasengan22

Genre: Romance/Psychological Drama

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto hence why this is a FANFIC

Warnings: boyxboy gets more noticable, the hurting of Naruto's feelings, causing Kiba to loose brain cells, language

Pairings: NaruSasuNaru

Author's note: For clarification purposes, since it isn't stated in the text. Sasuke and Naruto are 18-19 years old.

----------------------------

For what seemed to be the hundredth time in the seven months that he'd been in Konoha, Sasuke found himself in front of Tsunade. However, the blond woman usually looked better. Her eyes looked squinty, and there were bags under them. Small tension lines laced her lips. Sasuke simply chalked it up to the female Hokage getting so drunk that her age-defying jutsu was slipping.

"We've moved your exam up to today; actually, it'll be in about twenty minutes." She said wearily.

"Hn." Yes, Sasuke was shocked, but he could deal with the surprises Tsunade sent his way, after all, he doubted they could be any more scary than the ones Orochimaru had a tendency to spring on him.

"This will run slightly similar to the chuunin exam. The first step will require you to write down and explain out all the jutsus you have acquired and seen in your absence. Failure to identify all of them will result in you being put back onto probation and once again restricted to genin missions. The second step is a series of obstacle courses in which we will see how you respond to certain types of impediments. The last test will be a one on one fight. Do you have any questions?"

"Why the rush?" Sasuke asked, noting that something was off, it sounded almost as if she was in a hurry to have him placed and given higher ranked missions.

Tsunade sighed before answering. She looked carefully at the young man in front of her and asked, "Did Naruto talk to you about his mission?"

"No, he's been sleeping since he got back."

"That's understandable. The mission he just returned from was only B-ranked. Naruto, along with Kiba and Ino, had been sent to retrieve a document from a temple near the North border. There were other things entailed, but for the most part that mission was a success. The problem came when they were on the return home." Tsunade paused to see if Sasuke was paying attention, when the teen nodded, she continued, "Two, as of yet unidentified, Akatsuki members attacked their party as they prepared camp. Obviously, they made it back in one piece, but not after some intense fighting. Naruto was forced to use two large rasengan in order to allow Ino and Kiba to flee with the scroll."

Sasuke's eyes widened. Ignoring the sudden tightness in his chest, he seized onto the anger that suddenly burned in his eyes. He had a strong urge to go pull his blond friend out of bed and demand why he had failed to tell him about the attack. Try as he might, he couldn't keep from forgetting that Naruto had been pretty out of it the two times they had talked since he had returned from his mission. He also ignored the fact that he had to force himself to focus on the fact that Naruto knew Sasuke wanted all the information on the Akatsuki that he could get and not on the fact that the dumb blond had been in serious danger. _Damn it all, focus, Sasuke, focus!_

"Before you blow a gasket, Sasuke, I am fully aware that despite everything, you are still desperate to hunt down and kill your brother. Everyone accepted that fact under the condition that you not run off whenever you feel like it. So before you go all avenger on me, let me –"

"Let's make one thing clear, Hokage-sama. The people of this village are the ones that forced that avenger crap on me. If I haven't been following Itachi's screwed up plan for my future, I've been playing to theirs. When I came back here, it was with the purpose of taking everyone's idea of me and shoving it up their asses. I'm not as stupid as many people would believe me to be, despite the stupid moves I made. So as much as it may be ingrained in me to run off at the first mention of the Akatsuki, I do have some sense of who I really am and that person has no intention of running off blindly to battle someone on their terms."

"Are you quite done, Sasuke?" When said boy continued to simply glare at her, Tsunade continued, "I am very aware of how this village messed with your mind. I'm also very aware that one of the reasons you wanted Naruto living in the Uchiha compound with you is because you wish to use him as bait." Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't think for a second that I wasn't able to get that out of him."

"And here I figured Iruka was the one to get it out of the dobe and then reported it to you." Tsunade glowered at the smug look on the young man in front of her. So what if he was right, she didn't really care all that much.

"Can we get back to the point?" Tsunade asked in an annoyed tone.

"Hn."

"Fine. I'm also aware that Naruto agreed to being your bate by making you promise that you wouldn't go after Itachi alone, that you would let him help out." Tsunade paused, happy when Sasuke's left eye twitched. _Ha, that wasn't something I got from Iruka!_ "I was obviously OK with this," _well, as OK as I can be_, "otherwise I wouldn't have allowed him to move into your compound. My question is does Sakura know?"

Sasuke remained silent.

"I'll take that as a no. So long as you and Naruto keep with your plan, I want you to inform Sakura about the deal between the two of you. Also, I'm ordering that you fill at least three more houses with ninja."

Sasuke was suddenly wondering why the left half of his body was twitching. "I understand the need to inform Sakura and had planned on doing so, however I don't feel that you have any right to tell me who to-"

"Any right? ANY RIGHT?" Tsunade practically yelled as she slapped her hands on the top of her desk and stood up. Her abundant bosom was heaving dramatically as she tried to calm down. "Now you listen here, _child_. I have every right to take away your property, wealth, and freedom whenever I so choose. You are a traitor to this village, and it was only through the promises of those people that call you friend that allow for you to walk freely, hell, to even breathe. I have bent over backwards to accept you back into this village, but do NOT take my kindness as weakness. I will take whatever steps are necessary to protect this village and the people that live here. Do I make myself clear, Uchiha-san?" Her last words were spoken like a threat and Sasuke took an involuntary step backwards. He now suddenly understood why Orochimaru had never really taken this woman on. "Now, you may choose who else you want to live in the Uchiha complex, or as you implied, I can choose them for you. Either way, I just made my mind up to have an ANBU squad stationed in the complex as well."

Sasuke was about to sputter a refusal when Tsunade's glare stopped him cold. He wasn't sure if Tsunade had Orochimaru's ability to show their victims their deaths, but Sasuke could definitely see that he may well die if he tried to say no. But he still couldn't simply say yes, could he?

"I will choose the three and pick the location the ANBU will be stationed at."

"Fine. Now, on with the testing." Tsunade smiled at him and Sasuke started wondering if he hadn't just been played.

---------------------

"Still kicking, Sasuke?" Kiba asked as the raven-haired teen approached Tsunade. Why a crowd had to gather for this, Sasuke didn't know, but there had to be at least two-dozen people watching his second test.

"That last obstacle looked like it did some damage." Temari snickered. Sasuke glared hard at the red head that stood silently next to the fan toting blond. His last "obstacle" had been a wall of sand. He'd had a nice little surprise when he realized that the sand siblings were here as well and that Gaara was "participating" in Sasuke's test. And, yes, the sand did some damage. Thankfully, Sasuke had managed to get passed the sand. He may not be as fast as Lee, but Sasuke could be hard to catch when he wanted to be.

"Congratulations. That only took 4 hours, 13 minutes and 51 seconds." Tsunade said throwing Sasuke a water bottle.

"And every second of it entertaining!" Kiba added with a grin. Sasuke glared at him as sweat plastered his hair to his head and caused his shirt to stick to him in uncomfortable ways. He had to admit that though the second test was hard, that wasn't the reason he was so pissed. Part of him wanted to know why Naruto hadn't dragged his idiotic self out to watch the spectacle of Uchiha Sasuke being put through the paces. If he weren't so tired he would have never admitted to himself that he wanted Naruto to be here, but he was tired, so his fury kept rising.

"Now you'll be fighting Shikamaru." Tsunade announced. Choji took a moment to pull his hand out of his potato chip bag and pushed the lazy nin off his shoulder. One would think that a person who for all purposes looked to be sleeping against his friend's shoulder would fall to the ground when said shoulder was gone. Shikamaru, however, simply straightened before walking out into the field. Sasuke's left eye twitched in that annoying way again before he glanced at the Hokage.

"Yep, you'll be having the third test now." Tsunade threw a scroll to him, which he caught easily. "Your job is to keep Shikamaru from obtaining that scroll. You may begin . . . now."

Sasuke's jaw almost dropped at the suddenness of everything. Turning quickly he was able to just barely jump out of the way before Shikamaru's shadow bind technique captured him. Securing the scroll in his pouch, Sasuke charged the other man. Shikamaru sighed before performing a jutsu Sasuke had never seen before. Suddenly, the shadows on the ground stood upright and blocked Sasuke's path. Sasuke had lost a lot of chakra in the last test and didn't have much left at the moment, something he blamed entirely on Gaara. He was slightly sloppy in his movements, but he grit his teeth together and dodged between the shadows. Too late he realized that he was going to get too close to one of the shadows and his hand brushed the dark surface. Surprisingly, the ink-colored shadows actually reached out and tried to take hold of him. Calling up chidori nagashi he exploded the shadow as well as the other ones near him. Sasuke jumped out of the maze of shadows and landed at a safe distance. Gauging his chakra level, Sasuke realized that he had no way to beat Shikamaru in the condition that he currently was in, especially after using that last technique. Weighing his options, Sasuke pulled out the scroll and glanced over to the sidelines. He smirked when he noted that Kiba was currently on his ass laughing for all he was worth.

"Fetch, dog breath!" Sasuke yelled, throwing the scroll at Kiba's head. The scroll hit Kiba's forehead dead center, causing the ninja to get laid out on his back, stars dancing before his eyes. Akamaru 'woofed' once at Sasuke, before picking the scroll up in his jaws. Sasuke turned back to Shikamaru and charged again. This move may knock him out for a week, but at least by the time he woke up, this stupid test would be over. Calling up chidori one more time, Sasuke put all his remaining chakra into it. He'd explode the shadows and take Shikamaru out in one blow.

"STOP!" Tsunade roared over the sound of the sudden applause. Sasuke skidded to a stop and blinked at the blond woman. "Congrats Sasuke, you passed wonderfully. Now go home and see me tomorrow to find out the results and receive your next mission."

Sasuke's body was still humming with adrenaline, and he was so drained, chakra wise, that he wasn't quite sure he understood what was going on, not that he'd let that show. Crossing his arms over his chest he approached the Hokage.

"What exactly was the point of that?" Sasuke asked while doing his best to kill the leader with his glare. The third test had barely been 10 minutes long.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out, Sasuke. The whole point of these tests was to tire you out." When Sasuke didn't respond, Tsunade grinned and decided to put the poor teen out of his misery. "The first test is meant to drain you mentally. For someone with sharingan to sit around and write down all the jutsus they know and have seen is simply ridiculous. Such a task would take, say, almost 7 hours." Tsunade grinned deviously at Sasuke. "Seven hours of tedious paperwork. The second test was meant to drain you physically. You were to face obstacle after obstacle until you started to appear fatigued. All of this was designed to set you up for the final test, protecting the scroll." Tsunade held out her hand and Kiba placed the scroll in her hand.

"That hurt, asshole." Kiba muttered.

"It was meant to." Sasuke stated simply. Kiba muttered something else, that Sasuke didn't bother to register, and walked off while rubbing his sore forehead.

"You were given an impossible task; to defeat someone you couldn't defeat. And once again, congrats, because you did the right thing, Sasuke. You handed the scroll off to an ally and attempted to distract or destroy your enemy, giving said ally time to escape with the scroll."

"That is why there were spectators." Sasuke noted. Tsunade nodded.

"Now go home, it's almost dark anyways. Remember to eat something too; you haven't eaten anything today since I made sure you were summoned before you could eat some breakfast." Tsunade smiled happily and sauntered off, leaving Sasuke glaring after her.

---------------------------

"Yo, Sasuke!" Said teen could not ignore that oh so familiar voice. Stopping at the entrance to his mansion, Sasuke glanced over his shoulder to see that Naruto was not only awake, but his old self. The blond was waving maniacally at him as he exited his house. "Sakura's got food, race you over to her house!" Naruto prepared to race the other teen when he actually stopped to take a good look at the Uchiha. Sasuke's clothes were ripped in some places and dirt covered him from head to foot. Naruto looked harder and could have sworn he saw sand clumped in Sasuke's oddly wilted hair. The trademark Uchiha glare finally got through to Naruto, and he blinked.

"Congratulations, it seems as if the light bulb above your head has finally turned on." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Whoa, when I heard that the hag put you through the paces today, I never figured you'd look this bad by the end of it." Naruto said, nearing the other teen to get a better look at the disheveled Uchiha.

"Really? And when were you conscious enough to find out I was being tested today?" Sasuke turned to face the blond while crossing his arms over his chest. The raven-haired teen was only getting more pissed off as time passed. He successfully convinced himself that it was because Naruto hadn't told him about the Akatsuki attack, blatantly ignoring any other reason that tried to pop into his head.

"What's got your panties in a twist? It couldn't have been that bad. Sakura said Tsunade wouldn't let your second test go over 5 hours." That's when it dawned on Sasuke that Sakura hadn't been among the spectators either, but that didn't seem to upset him more than he already was.

"You would know what happened had you bothered to show up and watch instead of sitting around and gossiping all day. What did you two do, sit around and watch soap operas, too?"

Naruto blinked at Sasuke in surprise, if he didn't know better, he would have sworn that the other teen was pissed because he hadn't been at the test. A thousand ways to piss the Uchiha off even more ran through Naruto's head, but for some reason the blond simply wanted to pacify Sasuke. Naruto admitted that part of him was scared that Sasuke was going to run off again, and so he took a bold step forward until he was standing on the porch with the other teen.

"I got up once, to take Sakura lunch at the hospital and to get myself checked out, Sasuke. I was with her maybe from 2 to 4 before I came back here and went back to sleep. I figured you'd want to concentrate more on the test so I didn't go and bother you. If I had known that you wanted us there I would have got her to switch shifts so we could have cheered you on." Naruto said as sincerely as he could.

Suddenly Sasuke felt uncomfortably hot. Naruto was close enough to him that he could feel the teen's breaths against his cheek. Looking down into Naruto's blue eyes Sasuke saw that the other boy was apparently searching for something in his face. Sasuke quickly looked away. He had only in the last year acknowledged that for as long as he could remember, he had been playing the part someone else gave him. He was his father's lesser son, Itachi's shadow, Orochimaru's key to power, and even this village's genius avenger. Sasuke was still unsure of who he thought he was, and he realized that he didn't want Naruto to see that insecurity in him. Naruto, the one person who had always seemed to know who he was, and where he was going. Turning away from the other teen, Sasuke pushed open his door with more force than was necessary.

"What makes you think I wanted you two there, dobe?" Sasuke snapped.

"The way you're acting for one. Why are you so pissed, Sasuke?" Naruto asked grabbing hold of Sasuke's forearm.

"I'm not pissed!" Sasuke barked, obviously contradicting himself. Naruto's eyebrows rose in disbelief. Sasuke took a calming breath, but Naruto was still too close to him. When he inhaled through his mouth, he was practically able to taste the other nin. As his mouth filled with the air tainted by Naruto's person, Sasuke's mouth seemed to both go dry and salivate at the same time. Naruto's lightly perspiring skin gave off a scent of male musk and strangely enough, jasmine. Distantly, Sasuke remembered planting the white flowers along the back of Naruto's house. The vines had taken told of the back wall of the structure and covered most of the wall now. Since Naruto's bedroom was on the back of the house, Sasuke wondered if the blond had absorbed the scent during his sleep.

"Maybe I'm pissed because I had a test sprung up on me. A test that would decide whether or not I'd get my rights reinstated! Maybe I'm pissed because I just spent 12 hours doing said test. Or perhaps I'm pissed because _someone_ didn't tell me that he got attacked by the Akatsuki!" Sasuke tried to shake Naruto's hand off but the blond's grip only got tighter. He noted with vicious satisfaction that Naruto's brows came together in anger.

"I didn't tell you about that because one, I was half out of it every time we have talked since I got back, and two, Tsunade said she'd talk to you about it after she ORDERED me not to talk to anyone about it. Something I was going to ignore if she hadn't told you about it by now!" Naruto now had both hands fisted in Sasuke's dirty shirt and in retaliation Sasuke kicked the blond in the stomach with his right foot, successfully dislodging Naruto from Sasuke.

"You should have told me the second you saw me, Uzumaki!" Sasuke's muscles were protesting their use to soon after the tests, which only further pissed Sasuke off.

"Fuck, Sasuke, you sound as if you're more pissed that I got attacked, rather than not telling you who did the attacking!" Naruto threw back. Sasuke saw red, and despite already having little chakra left, the sharingan came to life, turning his eyes from black to red.

"Like I'd give a flying fuck if you got hurt, you could die and I wouldn't give a shit!" The moment the words left his mouth, Sasuke wanted to take them back. He was tired and angry and yes, he'd admit it, worried. That didn't give him any right to take it out on the closest person to him. The sharingan immediately deactivated and Sasuke reached out to grab Naruto's arm.

Naruto's chest started burning painful after Sasuke's words hit him like a fist. He took a step back as if he had been physically attacked and was shocked to discover that tears had sprung up in his eyes. Fighting the obscene things back, Naruto schooled his face to show no emotion as he took another step back and out of Sasuke's reach.

"Naruto . . ." Sasuke started only to watch the blond turn and start to walk away. Preparing himself to have the crap kicked out of him, Sasuke cut off Naruto's retreat and grabbed hold of both of the blond's shoulders. He was surprised when he wasn't attacked. Instead, Naruto looked at Sasuke with a slightly questioning glare. Taking a deep breath, Sasuke stepped further into Naruto's personal space, bringing the two nearly flush against each other. Looking deep into the blond's eyes, Sasuke made sure he had the teen's attention. Choosing his words carefully, Sasuke dropped his mask and spoke, "I wanted you to be at the test."

"You should have asked me, then." Naruto responded in monotone.

"I know." Sasuke took another deep breath, filling his lungs with Naruto's scent. "I'm sorry I lashed out at you, I didn't mean any of it. I'm truly sorry, Naruto."

Naruto remained still for what seemed to Sasuke like an eternity. Finally, Naruto sighed and nodded to the dark haired teen. "I forgive you, Sasuke. I also believe that you didn't mean it." Naruto nodded again as if to affirm his own words.

"I'm surprised you haven't decked me yet." Sasuke admitted with a small smile.

"You said it yourself, Sasuke; things are different. You and me included." Naruto paused before taking that last step that brought them flush against each other. "And you never really did give me an answer to my question. So, Sasuke, I ask again; where do we go from here?" His last words were breathed against Sasuke's cheek. The dark-haired teen's eyes dilated suddenly and his hold on the other boy tightened, drawing them that much closer to one another. Looking down, Sasuke saw the look of expectation in Naruto's eyes. Going completely off his instincts now, the Uchiha let the rigidity leave his neck and his head fell forward.

---------------------

Oooooo, cliffhanger.

Go to my profile to find links to pics for this fanfic.


	4. Comrades

Story: Come Home With Me

Chapter: Comrades

Author: Sarah Keller

BETA: Rasengan22

Genre: Romance/Psychological Drama

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto hence why this is a FANFIC

Warnings: boyxboy make out session, annoying silver haired sensei, SakuraxLee, language

Pairings: NaruSasuNaru

Author's note: For clarification purposes, since it isn't stated in the text. Sasuke and Naruto are 18-19 years old.

-----------------------

Sasuke watched as Sakura and Naruto talked energetically. Dinner had turned out to be very good, but Sasuke wasn't in the mood for socializing any more. At least not since Sakura had interrupted Naruto and him in front of his house. Dinner was technically over, but no one had made to leave. In fact, Sakura was in an animated conversation with Naruto over the logistics of weddings. Having never been to one, Naruto was full of questions, which the pink haired woman was happy to provide questions to. Every once in a while Lee would pop in with a comment, but for the most part the taijutsu master looked pleased with life. Something you could easily tell by the dopey grin on his face.

"Are you sure you don't mind me living here, Sasuke-san?" Lee asked, dragging the Uchiha out of his thoughts.

Sasuke looked up into the worried eyes of his friend's fiancé. Lee's eyes (and eyebrows) were still as weird as ever, but as Naruto had assured, the green leotard was gone. In its place were the typical dark pants of chuunin and jounin alike and a green turtleneck. Apparently the years had mellowed the man out a bit (even though he was prone to prance about and declare the wonders of youthful ways, but Sasuke figured he'd never be anything less than what he already was).

"Its fine, Lee. I'm happy for the both of you." This seemed to appease the other man and he reached over to stroke his fiancé's back. Sakura turned to smile brilliantly at him and even leaned over to kiss him lightly on the lips.

Sasuke's eyes connected with the blue ones across the table from him. Naruto smiled slightly at him before turning back to talk to Sakura. Sasuke kept his eyes on the blond as Sakura described the actual ceremony. He could easily remember the taste of the other teen. His taste buds had memorized the saltiness of the blond as thoroughly as the sharingan memorized a jutsu. The Uchiha was slightly amused to discover that Naruto tasted a little sweet, too, like the jasmine flower had not only changed his smell, but his flavor as well. Of course, the fact that an argument between the two had led to a sampling of the blond led to some interesting question in the first place. _Ok, so I'm gay. Just something new I'm discovering about myself. After all, that was the point of coming back here. No big deal, its just like finding out that I like to garden. _ And that was that, Sasuke could take being gay in stride, the fact that he was attracted to Naruto, well . . . he'd deal with that, too.

Part of him was darkly amused by this development especially since the second part of the "Brainwash Sasuke Plan" as implemented by the villagers was for him to procreate, and procreate a lot. Since he was pretty sure that being gay would make that a bit difficult, as boys weren't prone to getting pregnant, that would throw that plan out of the window. Of course, Sasuke acknowledged the fact that he could be bi, but to date he really couldn't say he was ever attracted to a woman, and it really didn't matter, anyway. Naruto was the first person he came across that attracted him, so there was no need for him to really be in the market for someone else. That is, unless Naruto wasn't gay. But the blond hadn't exactly pushed him away when he licked him, either. What Sasuke needed was a "test." And that was the reason why he hadn't gotten up and gone home even though his body was demanding sleep. Instead, he was going to wait to walk the dobe home. Sasuke had every intention of getting a real taste of the blond tonight, and the thought brought a smirk to his face.

"What evil plot are you planning?" Kakashi asked without ever taking his eyes off the book in his hand.

"Nothing that would be considered evil." Sasuke retorted, eying the man next to him as if he was a snake ready to strike.

"Really? But you are plotting something, right?" Sasuke considered not answering, but than he remembered that he was trying to get along with everyone.

"A test." He said simply.

"What kind of test?"

"One that's none of your business." The Uchiha bit off. He was getting really annoyed with the fact that Kakashi hadn't even bothered to look at him even once. He was even more annoyed by the fact that he had the distinct impression Kakashi knew exactly what he was thinking. Kakashi must have picked up on Sasuke's annoyance because he looked up to study the younger man. Deciding to forgo teasing the Uchiha, despite the blush lightly dusting the younger male's cheeks, Kakashi decided on a more neutral subject.

"Speaking of tests, I heard you passed the final test in record time." Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "The second shortest duration next to Shikamaru himself."

"Really?" This came from Lee. The other three pairs of eyes turned to look at Sasuke.

"I'm amazed, Sasuke-kun. No offense, but I figured since you were always a loner, it would take you a long time to figure out the third test." Sakura commented.

"All a part of turning over a new leaf, I suppose." Sasuke commented with a dismissive wave. He decided to forgo mentioning that he hadn't really figured the test out. At the time he was more interested in shutting Kiba up.

"Oh don't be so modest, Sasuke-kun." The skin around Kakashi's one visible eye crinkled and Sasuke got the distinct impression that the older man knew Sasuke's little secret. "We all must not forget that he is a genius after all." He said to the other people at the table.

"So who did you throw the scroll to?" Sakura asked.

"Kiba." Sasuke smirked. "He caught it with his head." The Uchiha laughed slightly as he remembered knocking the annoying nin out, but then realized that no one else was laughing. All four people stared at him in various stages of shock.

"Wait, you hit Kiba in the head with the scroll?" Sakura finally asked.

"Um, yeah." Sasuke admitted a bit bewildered. He would have figured at the very least Naruto would have laughed.

There were a few seconds of dead silence before a small giggle escaped from . . . Sasuke did a double take. _Is Kakashi giggling?_ Sakura clasped a hand over her mouth as her eyes danced with laughter, while Lee's grin grew and grew. And yet, Naruto still looked dumbfounded. _Perhaps the dobe's brain is taking longer to process, _Sasuke decided.

"Why how funny, since that's the same thing Naruto did during his test!" Lee exclaimed, roughly patting Sasuke on the back. The Uchiha's jaw dropped slightly and once again, his eyes met the blue ones across the table from him. Naruto looked a bit confused, like he didn't know how to take this news.

"It seems our blond is rubbing off on Sasuke-kun." Kakashi spoke up between giggles.

"Hey! You say that like it's a bad thing! I'll have you know, that if Sasuke-teme was half as cool as me he'd be damned lucky!" The blond declared all the while pointing an angry finger at their former sensei. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the blond who pouted in order to cover his blush. Sakura finally gave up and started to laugh whole-heartedly. Both Kakashi and Lee were laughing to various degrees of volume, and Sasuke was starting to get the twitchy feeling in his left eye again.

"Ahem, I do believe I even heard that you called him 'dog breath.' Is that true?" Kakashi asked after a bit. The Uchiha glared at the man and refused to answer, he'd rather admit to wanting to jump Naruto than admit those idiotic words had come out of him mouth. He did note that what Kiba had been muttering about as he had walked away had probably been about the near identical assault on his head. However, it didn't seem to matter that Sasuke hadn't answered Kakashi's question, the three others simple decided to take his silence as a 'yes' and descended into laughter yet again. Apparently, Naruto was as pleased by this as Sasuke, but less subtle. The blond slammed his hands on the table and got up with a huff.

"I'm going home." He declared. _FINALLY!_ The Uchiha mentally sighed in relief.

"I'm going, too." Sasuke said as he carefully got to his feet. Muscles protested at the movement, but Sasuke simply ignored them. Sakura seemed to make an effort of getting herself under control.

"No, no. Don't go; we're sorry for laughing at you." She said with a sweet smile.

"You should say that without snickering, Sakura-chan." Naruto pointed out.

"S- sorry." The pink haired woman couldn't seem to hold in the laughter much longer. "It's just kinda . . . you know, ironic. When we were younger you were always copying Sasuke, and now he's copying you."

"Whatever." Sasuke said walking towards the exit. "I'm beat, I'm going home to get some sleep." That apparently had a sobering effect, as both Sakura and Lee stopped laughing. Kakashi simply continued to giggle, giving the Uchiha the impression yet again, that the man knew one of his secrets.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sasuke. You've had a long day and yet you still came over here for dinner. I really appreciate it, Sasuke." Sakura said getting to her feet. She enclosed the Uchiha in her arms in a small hug before letting him go.

"I appreciate the fact that he had a shower before joining us." Naruto mumbled, but let Sakura hug him too.

"You aren't mad, are you Naruto?"

"No, annoyed, but not mad." Naruto smiled brilliantly at the girl. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sakura, Lee. Goodnight Kakashi."

Sasuke waited outside on the porch until Naruto joined him. He watched through the open doors as the silver haired jounin got up to make his goodbyes. Turning back to the blond, he watched him walk down the stairs. Sasuke quickly fell into step with the other teen who looked up at him questioningly. The dark haired teen chose to ignore the look and contemplate instead on how he was going to go about getting a kiss from the blond.

"Isn't your mansion that way?" Naruto asked gesturing to the main house. The Uchiha simply ignored him. Even when the other teen stopped and waved his hand in front of his face, Sasuke simply stopped and waited. "Geez, Sasuke, you must be really tired to be out of it this bad, what am I going to have to do? Lead you home and put you to bed?" Something clicked in the dark haired teen's head at that. Sure, he was tired, but not that tired. However, if Naruto thought that he was than he'd get the blond into his house and maybe even his bedroom.

It took a lot of effort to repress the smirk that wanted to form on his face, but he managed a disinterested look. The Uchiha mentally congratulated himself when the blond sighed and grabbed onto his wrist, and steered him toward the main house. Sasuke commended himself for having decided on wearing a short-sleeved shirt. He could feel the other boy's fingers digging into his wrist as he was pulled toward the mansion. An odd thrill raced threw the Uchiha and he had no doubt in his mind that not only was he gay, but he was completely attracted to the blond, because a part of him was responding with zesto at the seemingly innocent touch.

As Naruto pulled the dark haired teen towards the main house, he couldn't help but glance back. Sasuke had a look of contemplation on his face, and his dark eyes had so much intensity in them that when their eyes connected he could feel that intensity all the way down to his toes. Naruto quickly looked away, and as they walked through Sasuke's front yard, he couldn't help but recall what had happened there only a few hours before. In his mind's eye he could clearly see the Uchiha's dark head fall forward and come to a rest on his shoulder. His shoulder twitched slightly as he remembered the way Sasuke's dark locks had brushed over the bare skin of his neck. What had come next had caused him to stop breathing. Sasuke's nose had rubbed against the juncture of his neck and shoulder, causing his collar to be pulled down a bit. He felt the other teens lip brush against the exposed skin, and had thought it was nothing more then an accident. That was until something wet and rough had pressed against the skin as well.

At first Naruto had been a bit confused as to what had happened. The last coherent thought he had was telling Sasuke that they had changed. He wasn't entirely sure what he said after that but he recalled a challenging tone. The blond frowned as he tried and tried to remember what he had said, but the only thing that came to his mind was how the heat radiated off the other teen as they had stood so close together. Naruto could even feel that same heat radiating from where he was holding onto Sasuke's wrist. He realized that all he would have to do is slide his hand down a little and they would be holding hands. A jerk on his hand brought him back to reality with a small yelp. He was standing on Sasuke's porch and the dark haired youth was watching him with an unreadable expression.

"You almost ran into the door, dobe." Sasuke pointed out in a slightly husky voice. Naruto's nerve endings tingled at the sound of the other's voice causing him to frown further.

"If you're alright enough to call me names, then you're fine enough to get yourself inside." Sasuke raised an eyebrow and silently cursed himself for foiling his plan of getting the blond into his house.

"I don't know, I might trip on something and pass out in the living room." The Uchiha tried to fake a yawn, but by the way Naruto rolled his eyes he got the distinct feeling he failed.

"At least you'll be inside. Goodnight Sasuke." Naruto started to let go of the other boy's wrist but before he could walk away, Sasuke's hand shot out and grabbed onto the blond's hand. It wasn't quite a proper handholding, but that didn't seem to register on Naruto. The teen looked down at where his hand was being gripped by Sasuke's, his previous thoughts jumping to the forefront of his mind. Looking up he met almost black eyes. Ignoring the butterflies in his stomach he gave the Uchiha as bland a look as he could. "Do you need something, Sasuke?"

_Hell yes, I do!_ Sasuke was at a loss as what to do. He could just come out and tell the blond that he wanted, but that was just too simple. Plus, he didn't know how Naruto would react, and he really wanted his "test." _Think genius, think._ He mentally banged his head against the wall in his cranium, but still couldn't decide on what to do. Exhaustion and the oddly new feeling of overactive male hormones was causing his circuits to short out. Not to mention the wind had picked up just enough for the scent of jasmine to flood his senses.

"I want . . . " Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I want . . . my goodnight kiss." _Brilliant answer, you dumbass! Gah, no wonder I beat down the hormones for so many years._ Sasuke did his dead level best to not let any of his thoughts show on his face. Naruto's eyes had gone wide, but he had yet to tug his hand away, so Sasuke had a little hope that he hadn't done some major damage. And was his idea such a bad one? After all, by what he understood, it was quite common for a person to get a kiss after going out with them. Suddenly cheered by that logic, Sasuke pulled the still stunned blond closer.

"Wait a second, we didn't go on a date!" Naruto finally cried as his hand was pulled past Sasuke's hip.

Sasuke simply shrugged and kept pulling Naruto closer, very pleased with the fact that the blond wasn't struggling. "You asked me out, we had dinner together. I think that's the definition of a date." Naruto looked dumfounded for a second.

"The only reason I asked was because I didn't want Sakura to know what we . . . er . . . you were doing!"

"And what was I doing?" Sasuke blinked innocent eyes at the blond. Naruto didn't believe that one for a second.

"I will not explain it to you, what are you trying to do anyways! You're not supposed to kiss guys!"

"You make that sound like _you're_ allowed to kiss guys. Are you, Naruto?" Sasuke said with a smirk, drawing the blond closer until their faces were no more then a breath away. He could clearly see the blush on the other teen's face.

"WHAT? No, I mean . . . I . . . why do you want to know?"

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow at the other boy. "I would think that was obvious."

Naruto looked like he was actually going to faint as Sasuke's mouth descended. With his blue eye's wide, Naruto didn't know what to do when Sasuke's lips pressed into his. The dark eyes closed as Sasuke's free hand came to a rest on the blond's hip. Using his grip on Naruto's wrist, Sasuke pulled the other teen's body into his. He heard Naruto murmur something before he started responding. Tilting his head ever so slightly, Sasuke changed the angle of the kiss, their noses rubbing together as he pressed his tongue between the blond's lips. Sasuke's brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to force the other boy to open his mouth, which he finally did with a moan.

Naruto struggled a bit but it was more to get his hand released than anything. Once Sasuke had let go, Naruto flexed his hand against the small of the Uchiha's back. Images of when the dark haired teen had been staining the main gates came to Naruto's mind, as well as the night they had argued and the Uchiha had been shirtless. The blond was reeling, he had gotten great looks of the other teen's back those times, but now he was getting to touch. Unconsciously his nails dug into Sasuke's back, which caused the Uchiha to move closer, bringing their bodies into full contact. Sasuke's tongue was running over every surface in his mouth, like he was memorizing the way the textures changed from teeth to cheek to tongue. Naruto's own tongue was rubbing back and forth on the invading tongue while he brought his free hand up to push away the dark bangs that were tickling his face. Sasuke's low moan caused goose bumps to rise up on his skin.

Desperate to do the same thing to the Uchiha that he was doing to him, Naruto pushed his tongue aggressively against Sasuke's. The other teen seemed to get the message, because he tilted his head some more in order to press his mouth hard against the other's already bruised lips. Sasuke's tongue ran over Naruto's in an effort to coax his tongue to follow. Naruto didn't need any coaxing, though. The tip of Naruto's tongue ran over Sasuke's lips before tentatively pushing into the dark haired teen's warm cavern. Instinctively, his body arched into the taller teen's as his senses were flooded by the heavenly musk coming from the Uchiha. He tasted like the various foods they had eaten at Sakura's but also a little salty, like he had eaten a pretzel some time during the day.

The blond also became aware that he was fully hard when Sasuke's equally hard shaft rubbed against his. He made a wild sound and both his hands dug desperately into the other boy, one on his back and the other in the dark locks. Sasuke was apparently unprepared for all the force being placed on him, because he lost his footing and stumbled back into the front door. Grunting, the Uchiha brought both hands up to clasp Naruto's head, his fingers running between the bright strands and then clasping them tightly. He changed the angle of their kiss yet again, giving them but a moment to breath, before slanting his mouth over the blond's yet again. Their mouths began to war against each other as their hormones drove out everything but trying to get closer, to taste more, and touch more.

"Hello, boys!"

Naruto actually squeaked at the sudden intrusion, his full scream being cut off by Sasuke's mouth, which refused to lift from his. Naruto pushed away with all his force and managed to stumble back and hit a column hard when the Uchiha didn't try to keep his hold on him. Sasuke glared hard at the silver haired jounin. Naruto, on the other hand, looked like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Ka- kashi." Naruto gasped as he tried to calm his racing heart. Between the make out session and Kakashi sneaking up on them, he was shocked he didn't simply go into cardiac arrest.

"Hmm, seems I interrupted Sasuke's test. I suppose I'll talk to you tomorrow, Sasuke." Both boys could tell that the older man was smiling at them, but before they could say anything he had disappeared in a poof of smoke.

A few seconds ticked by as both boys tried to get their bodies under control. What Kakashi had said finally got through Naruto's hormone muddled mind.

"Test? What test?" Naruto demanded, his eyes narrowing at the other teen. Sasuke looked up into angry blue eyes and silently cursed Kakashi's big mouth.

"I, uh . . ." Sasuke wasn't sure how to explain this without pissing Naruto off. _Really, the blond could be so dramatic sometimes._ "Earlier-"

"When you licked me." Naruto cut in. Sasuke had the decency to blush slightly, but nodded.

"Yes, well, that wasn't exactly planned, but you were close and smelled-"

"Wait. I smelled?"

"Will you stop interrupting me, I'm trying to explain!" Sasuke's patience was running thin and he had to close his eyes and take a deep breath in order to calm himself. "I'm not sure what happened, but my hormones took over and I well, I wanted . . . um . . . I don't know but . . ." He trailed off helplessly.

"Whoa, you were trying to get a better whiff of me, weren't you? That's why you nuzzled my neck first." Sasuke didn't deny it. The fates seemed to be making fun of him though, because at that moment the wind picked up, bringing Naruto's jasmine filled scent to Sasuke's nose. "And then what? You wanted to taste me? You have no idea how weird you sound right now, Sasuke."

"I said I didn't know what came over me, but I did come to a realization from that."

"That what? You're gay? Get a clue, Sasuke, we all figured you were anyways!" That brought Sasuke short. He wasn't sure if he was insulted or not, but the biggest thing he wanted to know was who 'we all' were. "A little flip of a wrist here, waxing your chest, the sulking attitude and sexy outfits, man, Sasuke, this only occurred to you now?"

Sasuke watched Naruto do a horrible mimic of "gay Sasuke" prancing around and couldn't help the eyebrow that rose in amusement. It didn't get passed him that Naruto had practically called him sexy. If the heavy make out session hadn't convinced him that the other teen was gay, Naruto's comments now did. And to boot, he knew Naruto was attracted to him. "So this test was what? A way to tell if you were gay?"

"No, I'd already figured that out." Sasuke said carefully. Naruto's look said that he didn't believe him but then a look of comprehension crossed the blond's face and Sasuke winced.

"You were testing me! You wanted to know if I was gay!" Naruto was fuming; he wanted so much to knock out the cocky Sasuke that he was shaking with an effort to control himself. "Fuck, why didn't you just ask?"

"I believe I did try." Sasuke pointed out. "And you didn't answer truthfully."

"Yeah, but you didn't even give us time to actually talk." _Wait, did I just admit to being gay?_ Naruto deflated and started to rub his head as a headache came on. "I was confused, okay?" He admitted.

"Confused about what? Me trying to kiss you or about your sexual preferences?"

Naruto blushed. "About my sexual preferences." He admitted.

Sasuke looked doubtful. "How is it that you didn't know your sexual preferences when you've been here the entire time? I was practically brainwashed so I have a good excuse, what's yours?" Naruto looked away and sighed.

"I just figured it would never be an issue." Naruto sagged against the column and he looked at his feet.

"What?" Sasuke asked quietly. He slowly moved across the porch to stand in front of the other teen. Sasuke was very confused. He couldn't understand how Naruto could think that it wouldn't matter what his sexual preferences were. Naruto looked up and his blue eyes locked with Sasuke's. The tears in those large blue eyes made Sasuke's blood run cold.

"Oh come on Sasuke. What girl in her right mind would ever consent to dating me? What girl's _parents_ would allow her to do so? I may be an idiot most of the time, but I do understand where I stand in relation to other people."

"You are an idiot, you don't know any of that for certain. And what about Sakura?"

"Oh please, Sasuke. When we were younger and saw all those couples around, I understood why they were together and not once did I ever imagine myself in any form of romantic relationship. And for the love of God, Sasuke, why do you think I chased Sakura? Because I knew she'd always say no. If she ever said yes to a date I probably would have had a heart attack. I accepted being alone a long time ago. I've put all my energy into protecting those _friends_ that I love. There's not meant to be anyone with me."

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke trapped the blond between his arms when he put his hands against the column Naruto was leaning on. "That's bullshit, and you know it."

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the Uchiha. "Oh really, Mr. Popularity. And just how many times have you been shot down?"

"I've never asked any one out. If you recall, my life revolved around Itachi until recently. And I think your life has been revolving around Kyuubi for too long."

"What do you know! Itachi isn't inside you, you don't have the daily reminder that a monster lives inside you because the monster is all other's see."

"Actually, in a manner of speaking, Itachi is inside me. We share the same blood. And you're dead wrong on the daily reminders. You're living in one of those reminders, Naruto. Would you like to know about the people that lived in that house before you? Not to mention that almost the entire village still refers to me as 'the Avenger.'"

The blond blinked at him, guilt making his eyes watery again.   "I just thought . . ." Naruto trailed off. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I guess I didn't really think after all."

"Yeah, well, I'll forgive you, after all you're still talking to me and I tried to kill you on several occasions. Plus, I got a really great kiss when all is said and done." Sasuke smirked and leaned in toward the blond.

Naruto 'eep'd' and ducked under Sasuke's arms. "Ok, just so we're clear on everything, you're gay."

"Until a woman comes along that makes me realize I'm bi." Sasuke said with a laugh. He turned to watch as the other teen danced in place.

"Ditto." Naruto stated. "So, um, what does this mean?" He asked pointing between the two of them.

"We'll if you want, I'll take you on a real date tomorrow?" Sasuke asked, hopefully.

"Um, let me think on it, ok?" Naruto blushed, but gave the Uchiha a tiny smile.

"Sure, goodnight, Naruto." The blond nodded and before he could say anything Sasuke had kissed him on the cheek and walked inside.

"Night, Sasuke." Naruto mumbled at the front door closed.

The blond was left to wander home and think things through. For the first time in his life he really thought about what a romantic relationship was. He thought of the way Sakura and Lee interacted and how happy couples like theirs were. He had always figured that he'd grow old alone, but Sasuke was trying to tell him that he didn't have to be alone. But was Sasuke really right? It wasn't that Naruto had a problem with being gay. There were many same-sex couples in the village, even more among ninjas. Something just felt off in Sasuke's conviction, though. Naruto knew only one thing for certain right now, that he had a lot to think about.

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Pictures for this story are located, through links, on my profile page


	5. Brothers

Story: Come Home With Me

Chapter: Brothers

Author: Sarah Keller

BETA: Rasengan22

Genre: Romance/Psychological Drama

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto hence why this is a FANFIC

Warnings: more boyxboy goodness, KakaIru, LOTS of psychobabble, questionable morals, Naruto cries, assault by tile floor

Pairings: NaruSasuNaru

Author's note: For clarification purposes, since it isn't stated outright in the text. Sasuke and Naruto are 18-19 years old.

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"YOU!" A deep voice rumbled through the small café, the threat of a painful death intoned in the small word. Kakashi looked up from his orange book and glimpsed around the small restaurant. His gaze swept over the very cute couple in the corner holding hands, the man at the counter who seemed to be half asleep, the very angry Uchiha standing in the entrance, and three older women chatting happily somewhere off to his right. Deciding that all was well, he turned back to his book, easily ducking the hand that made to slap against the back of his head. Sasuke sat down with a thud and slammed his frustrated fist onto the counter top.

"You almost ruined everything!" The dark haired teen declared.

"Almost?" Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at the text on the page he was reading.

"You had to shoot your mouth off about a test, didn't you? Naruto thought I was screwing with him." Sasuke glared at the waitress that approached them. Deciding that she'd talk to them later, she turned on her heels and went to help the three older women.

"It looked like you _were_ trying to screw him." Kakashi observed before turning to his former student. Sasuke was trying to convince himself that if he glared at Kakashi's head hard enough, it would explode. "Calm yourself, Sasuke-kun. Knowing the way the two of you operate, I knew you'd never talk to each other about everything. I'm assuming your talk following my departure came out well, after all you did say that I 'almost' ruined everything."

"Still trying to play sensei, hmmm, Kakashi?" Sasuke asked as he steepled his fingers after resting his elbows on the counter.

"Hmmm, something like that. Did you two talk?"

"Yes, did you know that Naruto never gave a thought to his sexuality before?"

"Is that what he said? I'm sure he had an idea, Sasuke, but I'm not shocked he never thought on it." Kakashi mused. Sasuke looked over at the silver haired jounin and sighed. "Did you know that he's the one that convinced Sakura to give Lee a chance? Or, that when Hinata finally asked him out, he steered her to Kiba? I believe that they are having an engagement party not long from now."

"No, I wasn't aware of that." Sasuke said carefully. "Are you saying that Naruto doesn't believe in happiness for himself? That he focuses all of his happiness onto others?"

"No, Naruto wants to be happy, he just derives a lot of happiness from knowing that his friends are happy, too."

"Unlike us." The Uchiha mumbled.

"Don't lump me in with you, Sasuke. If I didn't gain something from the happiness of others, I would never have fought so hard to bring you back." Kakashi returned to his book and smiled at the waitress who had ventured back to take his order.

Sasuke sat there in silence for several minutes. So many thoughts were running through his head that he was having trouble processing it all. He had thought Naruto was denying himself and that was why the blonde had never considered himself in a relationship. But if Kakashi was right, then not only was Naruto actively avoiding intimate relationships (as seen by his reaction to Hinata), but he actually found happiness from others' happiness. Sasuke couldn't understand that; too many years of deprivation from happiness had taken its toll. Even last night with Naruto, Sasuke wasn't really after anything like happiness, it was what he had said it was, a test.

The dark haired teen ran a hand over his face wondering what he was supposed to do. He had returned to this village for many reasons, one of them to find out who he was without all the static he had been fed over the years. For the longest time he avoided everything but the drive for revenge. Sasuke could remember a question Naruto had put to him some time ago. The blond had asked him what he would do after he had his revenge and Sasuke hadn't had an answer. There was the whole, revive the clan thing, but in truth, Sasuke never saw a future for himself after he completed his revenge. Sasuke couldn't help the sigh that escaped him. He was always throwing himself into things without much thought as to what would happen afterward. Sure he claimed to have an understanding of what the consequences were, but he never really thought about what those consequences would mean. And here he was, once again ignoring the impact of what he was doing on the future. Sasuke had accepted his attraction to Naruto, but what did that mean for the future. He had asked Naruto out, without ever once thinking about what the blonde wanted.

"Fuck, I really am a prick." The Uchiha muttered.

"Sounds like you had a breakthrough." Kakashi commented.

Sasuke stared up at his former sensei a little shocked. There was no way the silver haired jounin could have followed Sasuke's line of thought and yet Kakashi sounded like the Uchiha had been talking out loud.

"Hn." Sasuke glowered at the other man.

"Now remember, Sasuke, you're trying to play nice with people."

"I think I'll go play nice with Iruka. Maybe tell him about your attempts to corrupt Naruto." The dark haired teen said as he got up from his seat. Kakashi eyed his former student warily.

"You wouldn't." Kakashi stated carefully.

"Ah, so you really are trying to corrupt him." Sasuke said with a smirk. Even with the mask, he could tell that Kakashi was gaping at him. "I'm not sure I like the idea of you trying to turn Naruto pervert, Kakashi, but I'll let it slide under two conditions."

"Really, and what are those?" The Uchiha now had his former sensei's complete attention. If truth be told, Kakashi was aware that his former student could very well beat the crap out of him. More importantly, Sasuke was fully capable of blackmail.

"One. All of your attempts cease immediately."

"And two?"

"The house next to Sakura's is in desperate need of residents." Sasuke stated simply.

"I already turned you down the first time, what make you think that can convince me to move now?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, as I see it, you don't have a choice this time."

"Really?" The jounin asked in an amused tone. His grip on his beloved book was the only sign that he was not as sure as he sounded.

"It's simple actually. If you say no, I might find a need to tell Iruka about your pet project involving Naruto. In which case, I do believe, he would find it necessary to move as close to Naruto as possible in order to protect him from you. Of course, you might get left behind in the move."

"You sound awfully sure of that, Sasuke."

The Uchiha shrugged, "That's the impression I got from him when I was talking to him earlier." Kakashi's single eye widened in horror as the implications of what Sasuke said hit him and Sasuke mentally smirked at Kakashi's gullibility. Kakashi was pretty sure he'd become the uke in the relationship, permanently, if Iruka knew he had forced some rather detailed "sex talks" on his favorite student.

"And that's all before I tell Naruto about my idea to have you two move into the compound." _Oh, that's low, Sasuke_, Kakashi thought in helplessness. He really didn't have a choice with both Iruka and Naruto being used against him. His defeat must have shown on what could be seen of his face, because Sasuke chuckled before turning to leave. "The place is move in ready. You could move in today, if you find the time. Now, I'm off to see Tsunade for my test results. Later, Kakashi."

The jounin said nothing, simply seethed inside. His former student had practically ordered him to move in today. And there was nothing he could do because the brat was blackmailing him. It was later, as the silver haired man was walking into the Uchiha district in order to inspect his new home that he admitted to himself that he was actually quite proud of his former student's deviousness.

----------------------------

_One house down, two to go,_ Sasuke thought to himself as he tuned the blond Hokage's voice out. Still ignoring the woman in front of him, the Uchiha went down the list of other people who he could get to take houses in his district. The Hyuugas wouldn't need any place to stay, so that eliminated Neji and Hinata. He could probably convince Shikamaru to move in so long as he found some people to do the actual moving. Sasuke could practically hear the genius's trademark 'troublesome.'

With that decided, Sasuke's mind drifted off into another direction completely. He thought back to his conversation with Kakashi. He started to wonder if Naruto hadn't returned Sasuke's kiss in an effort to soothe the Uchiha. Sasuke knew enough to know that Naruto didn't do a lot of things consciously. He was always more of an act now, think later person. His actions were fueled by emotion, whereas Sasuke's were fueled by hate and fear. Fear. _Yes_, Sasuke admitted to himself that he was scared of a great many things; his brother, being a disappointment, loving again.

After his family died, he was never really able to mourn. The village had rallied behind him and the seed of "The Avenger" was planted in him. He could still recall how one of the ANBU members had told him that Sasuke's greatest goal in life should be to become the one responsible for his brother's demise. The scared little boy was still inside of him; it had been with him when he defected and with him when he agreed to let Orochimaru take over his body. It was only through Naruto's rants and desperate attempts to save him that Sasuke realized that by giving his body to the snake sannin, all he was doing was running away again. If Orochimaru took over his body, Sasuke could stop caring; he could simply float away and cease to be. All the pain and fear would go away.

Naruto had saved him, but not necessarily in the way he had thought. It was the loud blond that had pointed out how he didn't need to be choked down by everyone else, that he couldn't very well die before knowing who he was. Naruto had told him that he wouldn't mourn for him, he would only mourn for the scared and broken child because that was all he was. And he had been right. Up until that moment, he had been stuck in that room with his parent's corpses and his insane brother. No one, not even Naruto, knew what Sasuke did in his house every night for the first few months he had been back. He had spent those months finally doing what he should have done a long time ago: He mourned. His repairs on the Uchiha compound where done partly out of penance for focusing solely on his family's death and not honoring their lives. The state of disrepair that the buildings were in when he returned was only partially caused by the fact they'd been abandoned for three years. Even when he had lived here, he had never kept up maintenance. In all, the Uchiha compound had been ignored for an entire decade.

And he never would have had any chance to set things right if Naruto hadn't cared enough to bring him back. But was that because Naruto wanted him back, or because Sakura wanted him back. Sasuke wondered if Naruto was even able to distinguish his wants from the needs of others. He'd have to ask Naruto about that tonight at dinner. The thought that Naruto would turn him down never once entered his mind.

"UCHIHA SASUKE!" Tsunade roared, causing the walls to shake very slightly. Dark eyes blinked at her and Sasuke realized his mistake. Apparently, he had tuned her out a little too long.

"Hai, Hokage-sama?" Sasuke asked turning his attention back to the sannin.

"Decided to join the conversation, have you? Well too bad, you can find out what we discussed from Shikamaru." The blond woman smirked at the confused expression Sasuke quickly covered up. "You are both dismissed."

The confused look flickered across Sasuke's face again until he turned to leave and finally noticed that the lazy genius had been standing next to him. Sasuke decided he didn't need to ask when Shikamaru showed up. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he had joined the meeting while the Uchiha spaced out. Silently, Sasuke berated himself for letting his guard down. He firmly blamed Kakashi and the stupid man's comments earlier as the reason he was so out of it.

" . . . so troublesome." Sasuke realized that Shikamaru had been speaking as they left the Hokage's office. He could have banged his head on the nearest wall for getting distracted again.

"What was that Shikamaru?" The Uchiha hated to admit that he'd tuned the other teen out, but he really needed to figure out what had happened during that meeting with the Hokage.

"I said that you are so troublesome, Uchiha." Sasuke couldn't think of a comeback for that, so he simply quirked an eyebrow at the other boy. Shikamaru mimicked him, which left the two standing outside the Hokage's office staring at each other.

Sasuke decided to bring an end to their standstill. "So, I take it I passed the test. Am I jounin?"

"Not yet. Passing the formal test is only part one to becoming a jounin. And yes, you passed." The lazy genius explained as they started walking toward the exit.

"What's part two?"

"You spend six months paired with a jounin and go on jounin ranked missions with them."

"So I'm jounin in all but name." Sasuke nodded in understanding.

"Yes, I suppose. You can consider this a trial period to see if you can handle being a jounin."

"And you decide whether or not I can handle it?"

"Well, ultimately, that's up to the Hokage. I just deliver my reports on your performance during the mission. Anything else would be too troublesome." Sasuke nodded again, it was all pretty easy to understand.

"Has Naruto completed the trial period?" Sasuke asked before he could really stop himself. It seemed he had Naruto on the brain a lot these days and inwardly winced when he realized Shikamaru could probably infer very easily why he was asking. He glanced at the other man who was eyeing him suspiciously and Sasuke suddenly remembered what Naruto had said to him last night; _'You're gay? Get a clue, Sasuke, we all figured you were anyways!'_ Sasuke couldn't stop his pupils from dilating in shock as he wondered if Shikamaru was one of the people Naruto had mentioned. _Gah! Of course he is, the lazy SOB is a freaking genius!_ It took a great deal of control in order to stop himself from walking to the nearest wall and commence pounding

"No." Shikamaru stated slowly, as if deciding whether it was safe to tell the Uchiha about the blonde. "Neji is his jounin and had to leave on a mission of his own. That's why Naruto was teamed up with Ino and Kiba during his last mission. I do believe they have to work together for another month or so before Naruto's trial is over."

For some reason, the fact that Neji was the blonde's handler really pissed Sasuke off. His hands curled into fists and he unconsciously started molding chakra as if he was going to attack someone. His mask of indifference never faltered, even when he realized that he was thinking about punching a hole through the wall. Shikamaru had that look on his face again that practically screamed "so troublesome!" Deciding a quick change in topic was in order, Sasuke cleared his throat.

"Are you still in the market for a new place to live, Shikamaru?"

-------------------------------

The sun was starting to set and Sasuke still hadn't shown up. With a sigh, Naruto watched as the bottom of the sun disappeared behind the far wall of the Uchiha compound. He'd been up since dawn and had accomplished more in the past 14 hours than he did in the previous 48, and yet, he was wired. The lower the sun descended, the more energized and nervous he became. Of course, finding out that Iruka and Kakashi were moving in next to Sakura had added to his extra burst of energy. He had been thrilled so much that Kakashi had kicked him out for being annoying. Not only had he been ecstatic about his two favorite sensei's moving in, but he had oddly felt something else. He hadn't been able to figure out exactly what the emotion was; however, he was well aware of what it made him want to do. Naruto blushed at the images that came unbidden to his mind that involved ways to thank his dark haired landlord for letting the two older men move in. The same landlord he was waiting for now.

Sighing again, the blond teen got up from the windowsill and made his way downstairs. Quite frankly, he was tired of waiting. For the past two hours he had done nothing but wait for Sasuke to arrive. During that time, he had cleaned up, even though his house didn't really need to be cleaned. He didn't have enough property to make a proper mess of anything. Naruto had even spent a little time agonizing over what he would wear since he was going out with his best friend. That is, until he realized what he was doing. First date or no, he was so not going to act like a girl. Carefully, Naruto pulled out his large wok and everything he would need to make dinner. Thankfully he had gone to the grocery store today, so his cabinets and fridge were full.

If someone was to watch his movement as he prepared the food, they may remark that he was being too slow, that he seemed to move mechanically. But over the years Naruto had learned that slow and steady was the best way to cook. Living alone since the age of 5, he had to rely on himself and himself alone, so burning down his home due to ineffective cooking was never an option. He couldn't help but smile a little as he remembered that he had studied cooking books more thoroughly than any textbook.

Naruto glanced up at the plain dial clock he had hung in his kitchen. The sun had probably already set, he noted. It still wasn't too late to go out, but Naruto's stomach had already started growling. Oddly, he didn't feel too angry for being stood up thus far. He admitted to himself that he had expected this. That was never why he had seriously asked anyone out. Even though part of him had expected immediate rejection it was the fear that he would be humiliated that kept him in check. He was scared that if someone said yes it was only to set him up as some part of a joke. He didn't think Sasuke had that kind of motive, but that didn't help the fact that he was cooking his dinner in his house--by himself. Looking back toward the wok, Naruto realized that he had made too much food. Shaking his head slightly, the blonde noted that he had unconsciously made food for two, part of him still hoping that Sasuke would show.

Suddenly, his kitchen became blurry and Naruto closed his eyes in order to will the tears away_. Figures_, Naruto thought sadly. He took a few calming breaths and opened his eyes only to note that the room was still hazy. He continued to cook on autopilot, his brows drawn together as he admitted that Sasuke's apparent rejection hurt a lot more then he would have thought possible. He would have figured that at the very least Sasuke would have showed up to find out if their date was on. When he hadn't, Naruto had just figured that in typical Sasuke fashion the other teen had simply decided 'no' was not an option and would show up expecting his date to be ready. He automatically turned off the stove and set the small table that was up against the far wall. He set a place for one and then situated the still steaming food on the table. Sitting down, he glanced across the table as if to remind himself that no one else was there. The room got fuzzy again and he started to rub at his eyes furiously, the anger finally coming to the surface. Damn him. Stupid Sasuke. He tried to focus the anger on the dark haired teen that seemed to forever stand center stage in his life, but he was actually angrier with himself. The events of the night before ran over and over in his head. He had pushed Sasuke away and turned away from his embrace, did he really expect to have the Uchiha ignore all that and still keep their date?

"Stupid me." He whispered to himself.

"What's wrong, dobe?"

Naruto's head whipped up in response to the husky voice. Turning in his seat, he was startled to see that Sasuke stood no more then two feet behind him. He was wearing the usual uniform for a chuunin or jounin, which wasn't really remarkable except for the mud that seemed to be caked into his clothes.

"Sasuke?" Blue eyes blinked at the Uchiha as if he wasn't sure if he was real. Slowly, Sasuke moved forward, his hand coming up to wipe away the single tear that had escaped from his watery eyes. Inside he was utterly dumbfounded as to what he should do. Crying was something he was _not_ comfortable with.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" He asked again, this time his voice was lower, more intimate. Naruto watched the stoic mask slip and was mesmerized by the concern he saw clouding Sasuke's dark eyes. He smiled slightly in an effort to rid Sasuke of the nervous glean in dark orbs. Those eyes glanced up, finally noticing the single place setting. The Uchiha looked back down into the wide blue eyes that had haunted him for longer than he realized. He noticed that his hand was still touching Naruto's scarred cheek. He felt a sudden overwhelming urge to bend down and kiss the blond, but he held himself back. He still wasn't sure if Naruto wanted this or if he simply wanted to make sure Sasuke was happy. "Do you want me to leave?" Nervous energy spread through the young Uchiha. Naruto had only one place set on his table so maybe he had decided against their date. His heart dropped dramatically into his stomach, where he was sure the acid was dissolving it.

Naruto's eyes opened impossibly wider at Sasuke's last question. His own questions floated through his head quickly. Did Sasuke not want to be here? Did he finally realize who he had asked out? This time several tears fell, and he pulled away from Sasuke's grasp, shaking his head as if by doing so he really could rid himself of this weakness. "No, but you don't have to stay if you don't want to." He said quietly, avoiding eye contact with the other teen.

Fear and desperation were practically wafting off of the blond, and Sasuke finally understood that he had made Naruto cry. Cursing himself and his blazing stupidity, the Uchiha reached out both hands took hold of the tanned face. "Sorry, I didn't get a chance to talk to you. Shikamaru and I had a mission."

"Don't worry about it." Naruto said quickly. He smiled widely, but the tears remaining in his eyes made the smile appear a bit pathetic. Sasuke smiled back even though he felt the urge to sigh. Kakashi had been right on the money about the blonde, Naruto was obviously placing Sasuke's feelings before his own.

"Where are your plates, dobe?" Sasuke asked a little exasperated. He headed further into the kitchen only to be stopped when Naruto jumped out of his chair and grabbed a hold of his forearm. Sasuke looked back at the blond and raised an eyebrow. When Naruto blushed, the Uchiha's other eyebrow went up, too.

"I'll get it, you can just sit down." Naruto's voice wavered a bit, but then he rushed towards the cabinets to pull out another place setting. For a few seconds, Sasuke watched him but then shrugged before turning and heading down the hall to the bathroom. He unzipped his soiled vest and dumped it into the bathtub before washing up in the sink basin. Shikamaru and his mission hadn't been exactly difficult, but it had been messy. The Uchiha was at a loss as to how the lazy jounin had been able to put up with those kids while he taught at the academy. He was still a bit confused as to how that boy had managed to make enough of an explosion to leave a small crater.

When he was done, Sasuke headed back to the kitchen. Naruto had finished adding another place setting and had returned to his seat. The blonde was staring absently at the empty seat across from him when Sasuke entered the room. The blank expression disappeared in a heartbeat when Naruto looked up at the Uchiha and smiled brightly. Sasuke was relieved to see the watery look was gone from the blonde's eyes and that the smile was genuine. He smiled back at the other teen and took his seat. For the first few minutes neither said anything. Naruto was silently reevaluating his glaring lack of trust in the other, while Sasuke was trying to figure out how to ask the blonde the questions he so desperately wanted to ask. Unknowingly, Sasuke sucked the food from his chopsticks, savoring the incredible tasting food. Naruto, however, had noticed and his jaw dropped at the surprisingly erotic display.

"What did you do today?" Sasuke asked before he really thought about it. The moment the words were out of his mouth, though, he wanted to reach out and shove them back down his throat. He was thoroughly embarrassed by the most clichéd thing to come out of his mouth. Naruto appeared a little shocked by the question before he grinned slightly. His smile grew until Sasuke was sure he would be blinded by it, and he decided that maybe it wasn't such a bad thing to ask.

Naruto launched into a detailed description of his day. Sasuke listened dutifully as the blonde told him about going to the grocery store, going to the Hokage's office and having to listen to 'the damn old hag' go on and on about this or that. Sasuke smiled around his food when Naruto added a few "blah, blah, blahs" to the end of his reenactment of his conversation with the Hokage. When he told him about his training with Neji, the uncharacteristic flair of anger surged to the top again until it boiled just beneath his skin. Sasuke's smile became somewhat tense, and he was eternally thankful when Naruto suddenly started talking about Kakashi and Iruka moving in. A satisfied smirk tugged at Sasuke's lips before he controlled himself.

"Shikamaru is moving in next to you, as well."

"Really! Yeah, since he's dating Temari that means I'll get to see Gaara more often! It is so awesome of you to let us all move here, Sasuke." Naruto declared after finishing his food. Sasuke's hand tightened around his chopsticks when his blond mentioned Gaara. _Stupid raccoon looking leprechaun!_ Sasuke shouted out in his mind. He finally acknowledged the jealousy he was feeling for what it was. _Gah! This is getting more and more complicated!_ Forcibly relaxing his grip, Sasuke dropped the utensils onto his empty plate and rubbed his eyes with the base of his palms.

"Tough day with the Toppi kids?" Naruto giggled. Sasuke groaned before he could repress it. "They're a handful, aren't they? Did you know that their family has been making fireworks for generations."

"Well at least that explains the explosives." Sasuke commented. "Wait, how did you-"

"Know?" Naruto cut it. "You have the telltale appearance of someone who babysat those kids. Hey, at least you're not bleeding. You know me, I tried to get one of the bombs away from the oldest boy, and it ended up going off in my hand. I'm lucky I didn't lose any of my digits." To emphasize the point Naruto wiggled the fingers on his right hand.

Sasuke groaned again. "Dobe." Naruto let out a full-bodied laugh. Sasuke sat mesmerized as the blonde's white teeth flashed, his head tilted back as he continued to laugh.

"Well, you know me." Naruto repeated as he calmed himself down.

"What would make you happy?" Sasuke asked suddenly. Naruto sobered abruptly, his eyes going wide. At first, he wanted to make light of the question but then he noticed the look in Sasuke's dark eyes. Yes, there was seriousness there, but that wasn't unexpected. The Uchiha was well known for his seriousness. No, it was the naked curiosity and hope in Sasuke's eyes that kept Naruto from cracking a joke.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked carefully.

"I want to know what would make you happy." The Uchiha asked, leaning forward slightly. He watched confusion flicker in Naruto's bright blue orbs and pursed his lips in contemplation. "Generally speaking." He added.

"Well, being Hokage, that would make me loads happy!" Naruto instantly declared. If it hadn't been for the look in the blonde's eyes, Sasuke would have actually bought it.

"You mean happy like happy that Sakura said yes to a date?" Sasuke asked warily.

"Err . . . " Naruto trailed off before sighing. "Being Hokage would be great. I wasn't being a total ass when I kept declaring that I wanted to be Hokage when we were younger. Though it was more of the recognition that I was after. Over the past few years I came to see that I didn't need the title to be recognized. I have friends and people that well, see me. That makes me pretty happy."

"So you don't want to be Hokage anymore?" Sasuke asked a bit skeptically.

Naruto thought about that for a few moments. "Well, I think I'd rather be worthy of it then use it as a tool to boost my confidence." Sasuke nodded his understanding. "Hey, but I'm happy knowing that I'd become Hokage way before you ever did!" Both of them laughed at that. Being a traitor, Sasuke would never be allowed to become a Hokage, not that he ever wanted to. Apparently that was actually a written rule, go figure. "Guess that makes you dead last!" Naruto suddenly declared, bursting into laughter once again.

"Hn." Sasuke glared at the blonde, but his lips twitched with his suppressed smirk. "What else?"

"Huh? Oh, well I love having Iruka and Kakashi and all my friends nearby!" It was on the tip of his tongue to declare his need to thank Sasuke somehow, but the images that came to mind from that thought kept him from opening his mouth. Though he couldn't help the blush that spread across his cheeks. _Stupid Kakashi and his stupid 'lessons,'_ Naruto thought grumpily.

"But what would make you happy, something for yourself?"

"Uhh," Naruto thought carefully, "Free ramen for life would make me pretty happy. Getting to be Uncle to Sakura and Lee's kids will be pretty awesome, too."

This time Sasuke managed to stifle his groan. This is going all wrong. Sasuke wondered if he was asking the wrong question. "Naruto, what about your personal life?"

The blonde rolled his eyes. "Didn't we go over that last night? I don't have a personal life, not like that."

"Then what about you and me?" Sasuke practically shouted. This conversation was becoming more and more frustrating. Naruto blushed brightly, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Suddenly Sasuke didn't want to hear Naruto stutter out some lame response. Deciding the direct path was the best way he asked, "Do you want me to stop? To leave our friendship at just that, a friendship?" The moment the words were out of his mouth Sasuke had to blink. He realized he would back off if Naruto asked him to. He wanted Naruto to be happy, and if that was contingent on their friendship never evolving then he would choose Naruto's happiness over his own. A small voice in the back of his head shouted "BREAKTHROUGH!" and Sasuke smiled wryly at his revelation.

"NO!" Naruto suddenly shouted. He shook his head furiously. "No, I like . . . um, I want to . . . AHH!" Apparently Naruto was just as frustrated as Sasuke.

The blonde abruptly stood up, causing his chair to topple over. Tanned hands shot out and grabbed the front of Sasuke's black shirt. Before the Uchiha could do anything he was jerked out of his seat, his mouth making contact with another set of lips painfully hard. Both teens groaned before they readjusted themselves. Still leaning over the small kitchen table, Sasuke brought both hands up to grip Naruto's shoulders. The blonde produced a disgruntled sound when Sasuke tried to take control of the kiss and moved his hands to cup the pale teen's face. He slanted his mouth at the same time his thumbs moved to pry Sasuke's mouth open. The moment Naruto's tongue finally pushed through the Uchiha's lips he made a sound of triumph, which was lost in a groan when Sasuke's tongue rubbed sensually over his own.

Wanting more than just their lips touching, Sasuke moved his hands around Naruto's waist and tried to pull him closer. Alas, the table was in the way, but unfortunately for the blonde that fact failed to make it to the Uchiha's brain and he kept being pulled forward into the table. Without breaking the kiss, Naruto accommodated the other teen's demands. The sounds of something breaking reached both boys' ears, but they firmly ignored the silly distraction. Sasuke pulled back to take a breath before diving back into the kiss, this time forcing his tongue into the blonde's hot cavern. Groaning, the Uchiha licked at Naruto's teeth, the inside of his cheeks and the roof of his mouth. All the while Naruto's own tongue kept trying to force the invading muscle out of his mouth and back into its owner. Naruto would be damned if he was going to give up control over this kiss.

Naruto's fingers combed through Sasuke's hair and then tightened, catching large chunks of silky black strands in his fists. He yanked the hair painfully causing Sasuke to gasp, his eyes shooting open to glare at the boy only to have said blonde attack his mouth. Sharp teeth nipped at his lower lip before Naruto's tongue pushed into Sasuke's mouth. The Uchiha groaned right before the world tilted drastically. A loud crack echoed throughout the room when Sasuke's head met tiled floor. The groan that followed wasn't one of pleasure. Dark eyes opened only to close again when the kitchen ceiling started spinning. Sasuke groaned again as the back of his head started pulsing in indignation.

"Sasuke?" Taking a deep breath, the dark haired teen took in his surroundings. His head was on the floor, but he could still feel the chair digging into his back, which meant he was partially sitting in it. There was a heavy weight across his stomach that kept shifting nervously. That would be Naruto, his genius mind deduced. Slitting his eyes open again, he was thankful that the blonde's face wasn't spinning, though he groaned when he counted three sets of blue eyes.

"Ow." He stated. The Narutos had the audacity to giggle. "Off. Now."

Naruto climbed up and off of the flattened Uchiha, his expression saying that he wasn't sure if he should start mothering or laughing. Sasuke glared at him, and Naruto decided to smile brightly at him. Rolling ever so carefully onto his side, Sasuke managed to sit up. His hands came up to press against his temples in an ineffectual attempt to lessen the throbbing. He heard clinking and looked over to see what the blonde was doing and had to blink again, unsure if what he was seeing was correct. Naruto had retrieved a small hand broom and dustpan from somewhere and was now cleaning up the mess of food and broken plates. Glancing up at the table he noted that the small piece of furniture was completely cleaned off. Sasuke couldn't help but smirk from the realization that he had pulled the blonde across the table. Of course, almost getting brained was a downside, but Sasuke could look past a little thing like that. Apparently it was Naruto's weight that had pushed him back into his chair and then caused it, with them in it, to tip over.

"Are you OK, Sasuke?"

The dark haired teen looked up and smirked at the other boy. Naruto smiled back at him before dumping his pan full of rubbish into the trashcan. He left the pan and broom near the receptacle before moving back to help the Uchiha up off the floor. Sasuke was happy to note that the world was as it should be. The room wasn't spinning, and there was only one grinning blonde in the room. Sasuke returned Naruto's smile before pulling the other teen closer. Giving into the urge once again, Sasuke leaned down and nuzzled his nose against Naruto's neck, breathing in Naruto's familiar jasmine infused scent.

"I don't know about you, but that sure made me happy." Naruto said, wrapping his arms around the Uchiha.

"What? Me falling on my ass and nearly getting a concussion?" Sasuke shot back. Naruto laughed at that.

"Though that was pretty funny, I was talking about the making out."

"Good." Sasuke said before covering Naruto's mouth with his own. "Me, too."


	6. Companions

Story: Come Home With Me

Chapter: Companions

Author: Sarah Keller

BETA: Rasengan22

Genre: Romance/Psychological Drama

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto hence why this is a FANFIC

Warnings: Yaoi! Doing naughty things on a swing, men going shopping, Ino, angst, lovers spat, and mention of a baby dying.

Pairings: NaruSasuNaru

Author's note: For clarification purposes, since it isn't stated outright in the text. Sasuke and Naruto are 18-19 years old.

A very big thanks to everyone who has been patient for me to update. Just so you all know, I have completed this story. There are 2 more chapters and once I'm done editing them they will be up which means this story will be finished in about 2 weeks, max.

-----------------------------

"The point of you being out here is to help out."

"I'm still recovering, you should be nice." Naruto pouted. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the obvious fake pout.

"You're just being lazy now."

"Well I don't want to break your rhythm, you've been working on all this for a while now. I'd just get in the way." The blond said as he swung on one of the swings Sasuke had installed.

"At least that excuse is more believable." Naruto laughed and even Sasuke smiled a bit. Turning back to the job at hand, Sasuke picked up another 20 lbs. bag of sand.

"Did you know that I have always loved swings?" Naruto asked. Sasuke smiled to himself as he opened the sand bag and started pouring it around the bottom of the slide. Ever since their dinner a couple nights ago, Naruto had been more open to sharing the things he liked. "You don't need anyone else to swing, and more importantly, it wasn't one of the places kids would gather around. You know, like they would around the slide or merry-go-round."

Sasuke's head shot up. Naruto wasn't looking at him; the blond was looking off to his right with a far away look in his eyes. Though the teen was still smiling, the smile didn't reach his eyes.

_Naruto_, Sasuke's heart squeezed oddly and he frowned.

"Why all the parks, anyways?" Naruto asked before Sasuke could say anything.

Sasuke blinked at the sudden change in subject before sighing. "Sakura and Lee will eventually have kids. They should have somewhere to play."

"Yeah, but does a couple of kids constitute four parks? Not to mention that you turned one of the east training grounds into a park."

"I guess, I'm trying to change something from the past." Sasuke said slowly as his gaze swept over the Uchiha grounds.

"Something from the past? You mean your childhood?" Naruto asked. The blond watched the Uchiha heir as his eyes turned reflective, like he was searching for the truth in Naruto's words.

"I've wondered . . . if the way my clan raised their children isn't somewhat responsible for what happened." Sasuke said carefully. "I wonder about the past a lot." Never once did Sasuke look at Naruto. He seemed to be unable to do so. Part of him wondered about Naruto's past as well and whether he should complain about his family to someone who never had one. Naruto smiled slightly at the other teen, everything he hadn't said clearly heard by the blond.

"It's alright to tell me, Sasuke. I'd like you to open up to me." When Sasuke finally looked at Naruto, the blond smiled brightly. The constricting feeling in the Uchiha's chest didn't dissipate, it only seemed to grow in magnitude. "For instance, you never really told me what would make you happy." Naruto pointed out.

Sasuke repressed the gasp that seemed to be have been rung out of him. Part of him had feared the moment when Naruto would want to know that. Ever since he had focused on Naruto's happiness, he had been forced to examine his own. The future was still something slightly terrifying to the Uchiha, not to mention completely unknown. It was very possible that Itachi or Orochimaru would still kill him.

"I want you to be happy." Naruto sighed and Sasuke didn't need to be told he was stalling. As much as he was being truthful, he was still stalling. "I don't know, Naruto. I really don't. I still want Itachi dead and to an extent, Orochimaru. But killing them is more out of self preservation than anything now." Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Well, why don't you tell me what you like right now?" Naruto asked, trying a different route.

A few naughty ideas involving his blond and a bunch of rope came to mind, but he didn't think that was what Naruto was looking for. A large part of him was still trying to maintain the indifferent and cold attitude. Admitting any kind of happiness was a hard task, the only reason he could admit that his and Naruto's relationship made him happy was because they had gotten that out in the open during a very enthusiastic make out session.

"Sakura said you like to garden." Naruto prodded. Sasuke actually blushed. He realized he really had to become accustomed to the fact that he does some things because he likes them.

"Well, yes. I also like working with my hands." Sasuke said after clearing his throat.

"Like building things? That's cool. I bet you loved all the D-rank missions we used to do."

Sasuke decided not to mention the D-rank missions he did after coming back from Orochimaru. "Not all of them, but some, I suppose I did."

"Anything else?" Naruto asked.

Dumping the now empty sack, Sasuke turned and regarded the blond. "Why all the prodding?" Naruto avoided looking at him for a few seconds before making eye contact.

"You haven't done anything fun since coming back, have you?"

"I believe we established that a lot of what I've been doing has some pleasure in it for me. Especially some more recent . . . exercises." The Uchiha smirked in victory when Naruto blushed.

"That's not what I was talking about. You haven't gone out and done anything beyond this compound, have you? And that's a rhetorical question, by the way, because I know you haven't. Just like I know the others have tried to invite you out." Naruto said, his annoyance at the other clearly on his face. Sasuke simply shrugged. At no time did he say that he was going to go out of his way to play nice with others. Plus, there were fangirls outside the Uchiha compound's walls.

"If you want me to go out, you should know the best method to do that." Sasuke said as he neared the teen still sitting on the swing. Naruto watched the Uchiha's approach suspiciously. "Though I think you would rather stay in."

"What are you doing, Uchiha?" He refused to relinquish his place by trying to lean away from the dark haired teen as he leaned down into Naruto's personal space.

Blue eyes narrowed at the smirk plastered on the other teen's pale face. But despite being wary of the other, he still could feel his heart rate speed up and his stomach clench in anticipation. In the last few days, Naruto had come to recognize the feelings he had whenever Sasuke showed any sign of seduction. Oddly, a lot of them were the same feelings he got right before he sparred with the Uchiha. There was one distinct difference though, and that was how he always felt like he was floating. Sasuke didn't need to even touch him for him to get all light-headed. It was an odd sensation that Naruto wasn't entirely sure he liked. However, he definitely liked what came after.

"Do you really want to go out when we could have fun by staying in?" Sasuke asked before his lips brushed over Naruto's. The blond mewed very slightly, and the Uchiha's mouth dropped down, completely sealing Naruto's mouth with his own.

Naruto's entire body shuddered at the contact of the other boy, his hands tightening on the swing's ropes. He felt Sasuke's hand as it cupped his cheek before traveling up to burrow in his golden hair. Just as Naruto tilted his head up in order to better accommodate their kiss, Sasuke slowly dropped to his knees. Naruto was very confused when Sasuke ended the kiss. But before he knew it, he felt Sasuke nip at his chin and then bury his face in the hollow of the blond's throat. Naruto felt Sasuke's tongue swipe against his skin before it was gone, too. Clouded blue eyes watched as Sasuke's dark head continued to move down his chest. Every few seconds the Uchiha would nip at his skin through the fabric of his shirt. Naruto's whole body was tight with anticipation. Sasuke's bites were almost playful since he never actually bit on the skin, only giving the impression that he could.

Legs covered by orange fabric were pushed apart as Sasuke slid between Naruto's thighs. Naruto could feel the light pressure of the Uchiha's hands on his thighs before all thoughts suddenly ceased. Sasuke nuzzled the top of Naruto's orange pants. The blond's shirt rode up under Sasuke's ministrations, revealing the tan flesh just below Naruto's bellybutton. Warm air caressed the skin as Sasuke breathed softly, and Naruto gulped. Taking hold of one of the belt loops with his teeth, Sasuke pulled back slightly. His dark eyes glanced up at his blond right before he let go of the pants. Naruto's thighs tensed until the muscles hurt, something that didn't get past the Uchiha who smirked into haze-filled blue eyes.

Sasuke leaned back until he was sitting on his heels, which brought him eye level with his goal. Glancing back up at Naruto, Sasuke nuzzled the folds of fabric between the blond's legs. He never put much pressure on the other boy's groin, only continued to give teasing bites to the fabric. He took a rather large fold into his mouth and sucked on it, causing his cheeks to hollow. Naruto's harsh breathing reached Sasuke's ears, but he couldn't find the will to smirk. This was turning into something far more serious than the distraction the Uchiha had intended. "Do you want to stay in with me?" Sasuke heard himself ask. Up until this moment they had only messed around. Things like kissing and pressing up against each other. They hadn't gone beneath the belt, and Sasuke had crossed that bridge without thinking. Again. This time, though, he wasn't the least bit guilty.

"Yes." Naruto whispered between pants, completely ready and willing to take their relationship to the next level.

"Tch, how troublesome." It took a few seconds for Shikamaru's voice to get through the two boy's befuddled minds.

Naruto blinked at the lazy teen before he blushed brilliantly. Unlike the time that Kakashi interrupted them, Naruto didn't squirm or try to scream. His response that night had come from the shock of Sasuke's advances, but now he was comfortable with their relationship. And since he wasn't one to be subtle or quiet, he didn't seem to think that they needed to hide their changing relationship from everyone else. As Sasuke stood, he noticed that Shikamaru was looking more at the playground equipment than at them. The Uchiha's fingertips tingled, and he gazed down at the blond to see that he was unconsciously caressing his scarred cheek. Naruto smiled at him, and his stomach clenched at what he almost identified as fear.

"Hey, Shika." Naruto said, pushing himself off from the ground slightly. Sasuke moved away so that he wouldn't get hit by the blond's swinging.

"Naruto. Sasuke, we have a mission." The Uchiha nodded to the lazy genius when he looked at him and turned to Naruto.

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Naruto spoke up. "Have fun." The blond smiled and pushed off the ground a little harder causing him to swing higher.

"Don't kill yourself with the swing." Sasuke said before joining Shikamaru.

Naruto watched the two dark-haired men talk before they walked off toward the compound's main gates. He continued to swing for a few minutes before allowing the swing to slow until he swayed gently in the breeze. The blond took stock of himself and tried to figure out the feelings he felt for the Uchiha. He understood the excitement and even the terror he felt whenever the two of them came into contact. That strange light-headed feeling he got, though, still confused him immensely. Sighing, he got up from the swing and grabbed the now empty sand bags, deciding he could at least help a little by cleaning up.

Tomorrow he would start doing missions again and suddenly blind terror choked him. Not because he was scared of the missions or running into certain people while on said missions, but because with Sasuke doing missions they would hardly see each other. Naruto wondered if their relationship would continue to develop or if this was as far as they'd ever get. Unconsciously, he bit his bottom lip as he pondered this problem and his reaction to said dilemma. His mind wandered to the dinner at Sakura's and to what she had said about him always taking after the Uchiha. It was true that when they were younger he did a lot of things to make Sasuke notice and acknowledge him, not that he was doing that now, but it made him wonder. As someone who had grown up completely alone, it was strange how quickly he had become emotionally involved with Sasuke, even if it had initially been a rivalry. And now, he was becoming more dependent on Sasuke, and his personality was trying to rebel and embrace this at the same time. It was all very confusing.

And then there were the playgrounds. Sasuke's reasoning really didn't make sense to the blond. The Uchiha claimed the play areas and parks were for the kids that would be running around here - presumably Sakura and Lee's children. However, didn't Sasuke start working on them before he knew about Lee and Sakura's relationship? The blond was pretty sure that Sasuke had started transforming the east training area into a park before they moved in. And with all the fangirls and repopulating the clan thing, Naruto really wondered if Sasuke hadn't started the Uchiha compound's transformation with his own children in mind. Something that wouldn't happen so long as Sasuke and he were together. Then again, the Uchiha had made it pretty clear that he was breaking away from all of that bullshit when he came back. Naruto was getting all confused again.

After throwing away the empty sand bags, the blond decided to go out and get some shopping done. As he traversed the shopping district, his mind kept wandering. Naruto was very aware of how people thought he put everyone else before himself, and yes, part of that was because it made him content for his friends to be happy. He found that joy was contagious, how else could people explain the power of a smile? Even on the worst days of his life, Naruto had smiled, and even though it never made his world right, his smiles made it a little bit more bearable.

What his friends weren't so aware of was how Naruto simply didn't know how to put himself before others. For years he got nothing, and now he expected nothing because it was better than waiting for the alternative. Like getting presents. He still remembered the very first present he got. It had been a week before his 4th birthday when two men came up to him as he walked to the playground from the orphanage. He had never heard of the traditional birthday spankings before, but he remembered it afterwards. However, unlike other children who received light smacks to the bottom, Naruto had received four hard slaps to the head, plus one kick to grow on(1). Naruto distinctly remembered that it all happened in the middle of a street and how all the other people around them had simply turned away.

Ever since then, he had learned to avoid being on the receiving end of presents. He had eventually learned to defend himself, something that wasn't exactly difficult considering he went to the ninja academy. Thankfully, the Hokage never believed he would hurt villagers without provocation. When one added the fact that he didn't have parents or guardians to dote on him, one could see how he simply never learned the selfishness associated with getting praise and presents. So when he finally did start to get positive attention and companionship, he was not prepared to accept anything from them except their attention and friendship. He had gone so far as to demand that no one give him presents for holidays, that all he would accept was a small get together and camaraderie.

Naruto would bend over backwards to accommodate the needs of his friends, even if it were to postpone his birthday party until after the Kyuubi Festival so that they could spend the holiday with their families. Part of him did these things in an effort to maintain the friendships, because he was scared of losing them. He did everything not to rock the boat, so to speak. That had been one of the reasons he had turned down Hinata when she had asked him out. Naruto knew Kiba was head over heels for the Hyuuga heiress, and he didn't want to become a rival with him, especially since Naruto wasn't sure if he would be able to return her feelings.

Sasuke though, Sasuke had always been different. Despite popular belief, Naruto hadn't wanted the Uchiha's acknowledgement when they were younger; he had simply wanted to know what was going on in his head. Reading other people was the one thing that he had relied on for his own safety, and he never knew what to expect from the great Uchiha heir. The more time they had spent together, the more Naruto had come to realize that even Sasuke didn't know what to expect. He had a goal, but nothing else. After he came to understand that, Naruto had attempted to help the other boy in both his goal and his sanity. His obsession to do so had almost become a test of his own mental state. Naruto couldn't say he was doing things to please the dark-haired teen because in truth, he simply didn't know what would truly make him happy. At this point all he could really decide was to buy the Uchiha a book on gardening and kiss him the next time they saw each other.

"Hello Naruto." A high-pitched voice came out of nowhere. The blond spun only to come eye to eye with another blond (a fact that really annoyed him).

"Hello, Ino! How is the flower shop, and Choji?" Naruto asked with a big grin.

"Fine, fine." The woman answered with a wave of the hand. "What are you shopping for, anything I can help with?" Ino asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Naruto visibly paled. "Er . . . no, thank you. I'm just getting some extra t-shirts for working out in, and I'm headin' over to get some books."

"Really? Mind if I join you? I've already got what I needed anyways, and I'd like to look through some of the new fiction books."

_Crap_. "Sure thing, Ino." Together the two blonds walked to the bookstore.

"How are you feeling? I heard you slept for something like four days."

"Two, actually. And I'm fine. Sakura's already given me the all clear. I start back to missions tomorrow."

"Really? Do you think the Hokage will give you B or A-rank missions?" Naruto mentally winced, he hadn't thought of that. Being Tsunade's favorite, he knew she'd try to pawn some less intense missions on him.

"I still have three weeks left on my jounin probation, which means I'll probably be paired with Neji for whatever missions, and I can't see her letting our talent go to waste on boring missions." At least he hoped not. Ino's eyes twinkled as she saw through to Naruto's insecurity.

"How is Sasuke?"

"Why don't you go ask him?" Naruto responded a bit harsher than he intended.

"Well, you know. The whole Orochimaru issue. I just figured since the two of you are spending so much time together, you'd know what was really going on with him." Ino watched Naruto closely as she said that. She saw the way his eyes dilated and the flushing of the skin on his face and neck. "Oh, my God!" She squealed. "Sakura was right! You two are doing the horizontal tango!"

Impossibly, Naruto turned a brighter shade of red as Ino started laughing loudly. "We are not!" He said through clenched teeth. Ino didn't appear to believe him.

"I so knew you two were gay!" Ino said between fits of laughter.

Naruto was waiting for the ground to open up and swallow him. People on the street had turned to regard the two blonds, which was making Naruto more nervous. With a huff, he turned and entered the bookstore only to be followed by the giggling blond girl. After a few minutes of watching Naruto look around for the gardening section, Ino took pity on him and steered him to the right place.

"Here this is a good one." Ino said as she handed the dumbfounded blond a book on gardening. She had finally stopped laughing, but a huge grin was plastered on her face.

"How did you . . .?" Naruto asked bewilderedly.

"You were mumbling to yourself as you walked around."

"Oh."

"Sakura also told me that Sasuke likes to garden." When Naruto blanched, Ino quickly patted him on the back in reassurance. "Don't worry, I think you two are perfect for each other. And Sakura agrees. You two should probably not make out on training grounds, though, Uchiha property or not. You never know who could walk by."

When Naruto started sputtering, Ino couldn't help but giggle again. "Calm down, Blondie. We're all rooting for you, just be careful. Neither one of you knows the logistics of relationships. We just want you to know we're here for you. In fact, you two should come out with Choji and me this weekend. A double date of sorts."

"That sounds like fun, Ino. I'll talk to him about it." Naruto said after his voice had finally come back. For some reason, he had gotten choked up for a second.

"More like blackmail him into, that boy needs to learn how to socialize. Too bad you're not a girl, parenthood would certainly knock some sense into that ass." And with that, Ino was gone. Naruto stood there for a few more minutes, realizing that the girl was right, parenthood would do Sasuke some good. As he paid for the book, Naruto couldn't help but frown at that fact.

--------------------------

A solid thumping on Naruto's front door announced the arrival of a guest. Coming out of one of the large rooms downstairs, the blond slid open the front door, smiling when he saw who was there.

"Why are you all dirty, dobe?" Sasuke asked. Not waiting to be invited in, the Uchiha simply pushed his way past the sweating blond.

"I was doing some basic workouts. How was the mission?" Naruto asked as he closed the door before joining the other teen in the living room. Sasuke had already seated himself on one of the couches by the time Naruto had made it into the room.

"Tedious. I barely slept more than four hours the entire three days. I'm surprised you're here, I thought you were going active again the day after I left." Sasuke stretched out his legs before propping his feet up on the coffee table. Naruto could see his muscles visibly relax beneath the plain sweat pants. It was obvious from Sasuke's casual clothing and wet hair that the young man had just cleaned up, which only reminded Naruto that he desperately needed a shower.

"The old hag has been keeping me on a tight leash, much to Neji's annoyance. Take a load off, I'm going to go shower really quick." Before Sasuke could say anything Naruto was already heading upstairs.

Naruto moved as quickly as he possibly could in the bathroom, though not too fast since he'd read somewhere that 90 of all accidents in the home happen in the bathroom after all. But even then, it was 15 minutes before he made it downstairs. When he made it back to the living room, he found Sasuke sound asleep. The Uchiha's feet were still on the coffee table, and his dark head was thrown back over the top of the couch. Naruto couldn't help but smile at the serene expression on his friend's face. Deciding to leave him as he was, Naruto went to the kitchen. It was still a bit early for lunch, but he knew first hand how much shinobi's craved good food on the return home.

Sasuke awoke to the smell of cooked seafood and the sizzle of a deep fryer. Getting up, he headed into the kitchen in order to see what the blond was up to. Walking into the kitchen, Sasuke's eyes widened. Set out on the island countertop was no less than three dishes, which didn't include the dish Naruto was working on and something in the oven.

"Trying to fatten me up?" Sasuke asked with a smirk. Naruto smiled but didn't look at him.

"Are you saying that you don't want to eat any of it?" This time Naruto and Sasuke both smirked.

"No. Need any help?"

"I'm almost done, go ahead and set the table."

The next few minutes passed in a comfortable silence. Sasuke set the table as Naruto finished making the Tendon(2). As Sasuke set the food on the table, Naruto pulled out the brownie he had been baking and set it on the oven to cool. The first few minutes of their dinner was eaten in silence. Slowly, conversation began. At first they spoke of trivial things. Then they spoke of more personal things.

"Am I to assume you left that gardening book in my house while I was gone?" Sasuke asked.

"Well aren't you a smart duck. Yes, I left it." Naruto confirmed with a laugh.

Sasuke was torn as to whether he should ignore the blond's comment or glare at him. He was highly tempted to stop talking altogether. Instead, he sucked some rice from his chopsticks and smirked when Naruto stopped laughing abruptly. "Thank you for the book, dobe."

"You're welcome." Naruto responded dumbly, his eyes glued to the erotic display Sasuke was putting on. "Ino helped me pick it out."

"Really? Do you go shopping with the girls all the time?" Naruto nearly choked on the broth he had just tried to swallow.

"What the hell do you mean by that!" Naruto practically growled. His blue eyes narrowed and sparkeled with the promise of violence.

"I think you know, Usuratonkachi."

"I am not a girl, teme! Do NOT ever imply that I am, or I will kick your ass from here to Suna!" Sasuke was incredibly amused by Naruto's flushed face and angry eyes. It took all his self control not to laugh out right.

"I'm simply pointing out the obvious, Naruto."

"Why you, you . . . TEME! I'm going back to liking only girls!" Naruto sat back with a huff, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting. "After I went to the trouble of cooking for you and everything." He mumbled. Sasuke couldn't contain himself any longer and started laughing. Naruto was already pissed off, so he simply continued to sulk.

"You wouldn't actually leave me for a girl, now would you Naruto?" Sasuke asked as he tried to calm himself. He tried to seem very concerned, but he had developed the hiccups from his sudden laughing.

"Instantly!" Naruto declared loudly.

"But you'd hurt my feelings." Sasuke batted his dark eyelashes at the blond in the hopes that he would look put out. Naruto snorted.

"I suppose I haven't found out yet if I'm bi or not. However, Neji is available, so leaving you for another guy is possible." Naruto was looking off to his side, apparently in deep thought. Sasuke's amusement came to an abrupt stop. His eyes narrowed in pure anger at the thought of Naruto doing what they did with the Hyuuga. The intensity of the emotion was so strong that the part of his brain telling him that Naruto was joking went completely unheeded.

"I suppose if any one left the other for a girl, it would be me." Sasuke heard himself say. Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes suddenly, and the Uchiha heir was stricken by the look in those blue eyes. It wasn't the pain he saw there, but the understanding that made him slightly sick to his stomach. Like a whip to the back, Sasuke knew he had should have never said what he did.

"Discover that you're bi, Sasuke?" The blond asked. Naruto's voice was strangly strong and even though he wasn't smiling, his eyes shown with interest.

Sasuke no longer wanted to talk about this, and he felt the urge to apologize but couldn't bring the words to his lips. _Stupid, stupid_, Sasuke chanted over and over in his head. He had completely forgotten the blond's insecurities when he had spoken. Instead of saying anything, Sasuke ate some more of his food.

"Come on, Sasuke, tell me about her." Naruto smiled encourangly, and Sasuke knew he couldn't finish eating now.

"Stop prodding, Naruto. Let's talk about something else." Sasuke tried.

"No, I want to know about her." Naruto pressed.

"There's nothing to say Naruto. It doesn't matter."

"I think it does matter. If you can make a life with someone who can have children, then you should grab hold of them." Naruto said simply with a slight edge to his voice.

The table vibrated dangerously from the impact of Sasuke's fist with the tabletop. "Damn it Naruto. That whole revive the clan thing is an annoying piece of my past, so can we please try not to make procreation the only thing I'm good for!"

"I wasn't saying that it was! I was just saying that you'd make a good father, that you deserve to have a family again. And I know you want them because of the parks, and don't give me that crap about them being for Sakura because you started making them before you knew she was in a relationship!" Naruto was standing up by the time he stopped speaking, his finger waving dangerously close to Sasuke's angry face.

Sasuke's fists were shaking with repressed fury. Part of him wondered if Naruto was right, even if the thought of having children terrified him. But then there was another part of him that wanted to ignore the whole issue. He was with Naruto now so it wasn't a concern anymore. Before he could say anything, though, Naruto was already trying to placate him.

"Sasuke, all I'm saying is that you shouldn't pass over opportunities like this. Go out with her, just one date." Naruto's shoulders sagged and his hand dropped down to his side.

"And what about us?" Sasuke asked quietly through clenched teeth. So much of his anger was directed at the blond. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why Naruto couldn't accept that they were together, that Sasuke had choosen to be with his blond.

"I'll still be here, Sasuke." Naruto said quietly. The blond's sincerity was clear in his every word. For some reason that really pissed him off, but once again Naruto spoke up before he could say anything. "Just think about it, Sasuke. I've got to clean up and then go report to Jiraiya. The old pervert wants to check my seal."

And so Sasuke thought about it, because he knew the blond wouldn't listen to him. Naruto cleaned up the kitchen and ushered him out. Sasuke wasn't sure what he should do now so he simply started wandering the Uchiha district. He walked past the rows of houses and the smattering of small business. But mostly what he did was remember. He remembered the people that had lived here, the family he once had. He recalled going to his Aunt and Uncle's grocery store, and competing with his cousins on the training grounds. He even remembered getting to hold one of his newborn cousins a week before the massacre. Sasuke abruptly stopped at that thought. So much emphasis had been put on the entire family being killed that no one ever recalled the people themselves.

Kazuo, the name popped into Sasuke's head. That had been the name of the baby. Sasuke wondered what had been going through Itachi's head as he stood over the baby's crib. Would Kazuo's mother and father already be dead, or did Itachi dangle the lifeless body of their son in front of their faces. White hot fury engulfed the young man and his breathing was shallowing. He squeezed both his eyes shut and clentched his fists until the muscles protested. Sasuke forced himself to think of something else and unbidden, images of Kazuo came to mind. The baby had sucked on his long bangs and giggled when he had winced at a too tight pull of hair. Sasuke remembered how excited and terrified he had become when he had been handed the small person. He had been amazed how strong the baby was, had thought that he would make a great shinobi one day. Sasuke suddenly felt the urge to sit down, like his legs couldn't hold him anymore.

Naruto was right was all he could think. Sasuke did want to have children.

-------------------------

(1) I'm not sure about everyone else, but where I'm from when we were younger we would get light spanks on our birthday. The number you got corrisponded to how old you were turning. So since Naruto was turning 4 he should have got 5 spanks. The extra one was "one to grow on." Don't ask me where the tradition comes from.

(2) A traditional Japanese dish made from rice and deep fried fish. Yum.


	7. Lovers

Story: Come Home With Me

Chapter: Lovers

Author: Sarah Keller

BETA: Rasengan22

Genre: Romance/Psychological Drama

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto hence why this is a FANFIC

Warnings: Yaoi! Sexual situation, adult situations, violence, RATED R

Pairings: NaruSasuNaru

Author's note: For clarification purposes, since it isn't stated outright in the text. Sasuke and Naruto are 18-19 years old.

------------------------

"You know, I was very shocked you asked me out."

Sasuke looked up at his blond companion not entirely sure what to say. He wasn't even entirely sure why he had asked Mariko out, either. She smiled sweetly at him in an attempt to coax an answer out of him, but Sasuke simply fell to looking around the room again. When he looked back at the smiling blond, though, his heart sped up a bit. The young woman sitting across from him was really quite stunning in her own way. Her waist length light-blond hair hung loosely down her back, and her wide set dark-brown eyes sparkled in merriment. She was one of those girls that blushed whenever he went by, but, thankfully, she wasn't anywhere near as annoying as fangirls who would giggle maniacally whenever he was near. Something he had noticed when he first meet her near the end of his last mission.

"Sasuke-san, it is only polite to speak to your date when you take her out. Especially if you're the one who asked her out." Mariko didn't seem so much annoyed as amused. Sasuke wasn't sure what it was about her that attracted him to her, but he couldn't help the fact that he was drawn to her much like he had been drawn to Naruto. Sasuke mentally winced when he realized that he had compared her to his former teammate yet again.

The dark-haired young man coughed in an attempt to somehow clear his throat and force words to come out of his mouth. He really had no idea how to socialize properly with a date; Naruto was the one that had always kept the conversation going.

Before he could say anything, though, an array of sounds assaulted his ears. He turned to see some older adult women giggling at the two of them. There were also some younger girls sitting a few tables away glaring at Mariko. But what worried him the most was the whispering he heard from a booth across the room. It was the booth where Hinata, Kiba, Neji, and Hana Inuzuka sat. Neji and Kiba were blatantly glaring hatefully at Sasuke, and even Hinata appeared to be upset. Hana was the only one not looking at him, as it appeared she was trying to convince the threesome not to murder Sasuke where he sat.

Another wave of guilt washed over the Uchiha as he turned to regard his date. He wanted to find out what Mariko's skin felt like, what she tasted like. He already knew she wore a perfume that was infused with jasmine. The urge to bang his head on the table suddenly overtook him and he managed – just barely – to prevent the action from taking place. He looked again at Mariko and imagined the end of their date when he'd get to kiss her. He was surprised that didn't feel overjoyed at the thought of it. Sasuke started to seriously doubt his attraction to this woman; it seemed as if all he wanted was to get physical with the girl. _ Lust_, Sasuke decided, _this must be lust_. Despite the lust he felt towards Naruto at times, that wasn't what had initially attracted him to the blond ninja. He had wanted Naruto's attention and companionship. He felt as if a weight was lifted off of him whenever they were near each other.

Mariko seemed to glow under the attention she got from others since she was the one on a date with Uchiha Sasuke. No matter if the attention was positive or negative, she looked like the cat that had swallowed the canary. From the way she looked at him, it probably wouldn't take much work to get her into bed. And Sasuke knew that it probably wouldn't take much more to get her to eventually agree to marry him so long as he played nice. He'd have a wife and eventually children; he would have a family again. He'd even have Naruto because the blond boy said he would still be there, no matter Sasuke's decision.

Sasuke recalled how the Uchiha mansion was actually equipped with separate suites for the man and woman of the house so he wouldn't have to worry about sharing a room with the girl all the time. Then he remembered the set of rooms adjacent to the lord's suite and felt sick to his stomach. Yes, Uchiha Sasuke could have it all. He could have the wife, the children, and even Naruto. He could bind the blond shinobi to him by using Naruto's weakness against himself, by making the boy understand that still being with him made him happy. He knew Naruto would do anything to ensure his happiness, why else would he have wanted Sasuke to go on this date? The question was whether or not he wanted to do so.

--------

A soft rain started to fall just a half an hour before sunset. Darkness had covered Konoha quickly after that when thick, heavy storm clouds rolled in, filling the sky. The wind picked up and the rain became thick, falling in torrents until even the house across the street from his became obscured completely.

Naruto frowned at that thought. Kiba and Hinata had come over while it the rain had only been a light sprinkle to check on him, and he had been shocked when Hinata had abruptly stood up to declare that she was going to 'kick that stuck up, stupid ass Uchiha' if it was the last thing she did. Naruto was fairly sure his face had mirrored Kiba's in pure disbelief. But after reassuring the couple that he was okay with Sasuke going on dates, that it was his idea even, he finally managed to get them out of his house. However, Naruto was still a little confused as to how all their friends had come to know about Sasuke and him, but he simply shrugged it off.

Now it was almost 40 minutes later, and Naruto found that he really didn't want to go to sleep even though he had to be up for a mission early in the morning. He was avoiding going near the front of the house for fear that he would see Sasuke walking back home after his date. Then again, this was Uchiha Sasuke; he might have just stayed over at the girl's place.

Naruto frowned as his stomach tightened painfully. Oblivious to the true nature of his discomfort, he started to wonder if the steak he ate for dinner wasn't cooked long enough. He wasn't so dense that he wasn't aware how much he hated the idea of Sasuke seeing anyone else, and despite what he had said to the Uchiha, he was definitely not okay with the other boy marrying someone else.

The thought of some woman coming into their lives both pissed him off and saddened him. But Naruto hadn't been lying when he told Sasuke that he would still be here. Naruto had thought long and hard about what their future would be like. He knew he could never live his life without the Uchiha, but he really didn't want to be the one to keep the dark-haired man away from getting back what he had lost all those years ago.

It wasn't a big deal if he ended up never having a family, but Sasuke had earned a second chance as far as Naruto was concerned. Naruto had thought long and hard about what he could do for Sasuke that would continue to bring him happiness, and when the Uchiha had mentioned being attracted to a woman, Naruto realized that if he could help Sasuke get a family, he would do everything he could to make that happen. And Naruto would simply be happy with whatever attention Sasuke gave him.

Then another crash of thunder echoed throughout the house with a quick succession of loud explosive noises. When it happened again after a few seconds of silence, Naruto jumped. The blond suddenly realized that it wasn't the sky making that noise; it was someone pounding relentlessly on his front door.

Getting up from his window seat, he carefully made his way downstairs without bothering to turn on any lights. His shinobi instincts had kicked in, causing adrenaline to flood his system. Part of him wanted to rush to the door and fling it open for fear that his friends needed help, but the other part of him was wary, especially since Tsunade had told him yesterday that reports had come in saying more Akatsuki members had been recruited.

As he made his way down the stairs, he noted that the pounding on his front door had yet to cease. Every few seconds, large claps of thunder would drown out the noise, but the rhythmic beating never stopped.

Naruto grabbed the katana that Sasuke had given him off of its perch on the wall before moving towards the front door cautiously. Despite his pounding heart, he forced his breaths to come as slow and as soundlessly as he could. His eyes had already adjusted to the dark, but he couldn't see through the wood, which suddenly made him incredibly envious of Neji and Hinata at the moment.

As carefully as he could, Naruto unsheathed his sword and stood off to the side of his front door. The pounding on the wood had slowed down, and there were now a good two seconds between the knocks.

Maybe it was the fact that there was more silence between assaults on his front door that was making Naruto think that the thumps seemed more solid, almost as if something heavier than a hand was being pounded against the wood. So, using the sheath, the blond unlatched the door and pushed it hard enough so that the door slid open fiercely. In a span of only a few seconds, Naruto abruptly found his back firmly pressed into the wall, a hand at his throat. His katana lay out of reach on the floor, and red eyes bored into his widening blue ones.

--------

Despite the darkness, high winds and torrential rains, Sasuke remained where he was, sitting on the moon deck in his garden. All around him the plants thrashed about. Several of the garden's decorations tumbled to the ground and in some places clay pieces littered the ground from when they shattered. Even the gazebo swayed slightly in the onslaught on nature. The Uchiha watched the destruction with mild interest, thinking how fitting it was for something he took so much pride and pleasure in to be beaten down and battered by Mother Nature. He was soaked to the bone but felt no urge to go into his house.

"Sasuke?" Came a familiar voice.

Dark eyes looked up, and through the darkness he easily identified his pink-haired friend.

"You should be inside," Sasuke said simply before turning back to watch the rain and wind continue to ruin his garden.

"So should you. How long have you been out here?" Sakura asked, her eyebrows knitting together as she watched the Uchiha shrug in indifference. She surveyed her friend. His clothes were soaked and clung to his body in a way that made her suspect he had been outside since the rain had started, at least. Having just returned from a mission, she at least had her flack jacket to help fend off the wind and rain. Sasuke didn't seem like he was going to talk to her, so she used a new tactic and implemented some information she had gathered not too long ago.

She took a breath. "How was your date? Her name was Mariko, right?" Sakura asked, while inner Sakura screamed 'Victory!' at the fact Sasuke's head shot up with that question and was giving her a death glare. But then the anger and annoyance in his eyes faded until all that was left appeared to be remorse. She watched as her friend's body began to shiver, a fact he didn't seem to be aware of. Maternal instincts kicking in, she knew she needed to get him out of the rain. "Sasuke, I'll listen to whatever you want to tell me," she pushed gently. "Just please, let's get you inside."

It was a show of just how distraught the Uchiha genius was that he allowed the pink-haired medic nin to guide him to his feet and escort him into his house, all with nothing more than a tentatively light grip guiding him by the elbow.

Sakura left the shell-shocked Uchiha sitting in a chair in the kitchen. It took a few minutes, but she finally found a bathroom amid the maze of rooms, and she brought back some plain white towels. Keeping one for herself, she handed the other to Sasuke. Sakura proceeded to dry off her hair and sighed heavily when Sasuke half-heartedly toweled off his head and chest.

"So what are you thinking about, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, taking a seat in one of the other chairs.

"Hn."

"Aren't you trying to play nice? Come on, talk to me-"

"Maybe I don't want to fucking play nice!" Sasuke suddenly yelled, slamming down a fist on the table and causing Sakura to jump at the unexpected show of aggression. "Maybe I want to stay a prick! God DAMN it all, all these stupid feelings and thoughts, and most especially all the fucking confusion!" Sasuke was panting by the end of his tirade.

Sakura firmly ignored the shock she was feeling at having seen so much emotion rolling off her rather stoic friend and instead started analyzing what he was saying and not saying. Which was the only real way to deal with an Uchiha.

"And what about the guilt?" Sakura asked. She ignored the fact Sasuke was doing his damnedest to kill her with that trademark glare, but she was proving to be rather immune to his facial expression so his stoic mask slipped back into place. "Here Sasuke, maybe you'll open up more if I tell you that I already know you and Naruto are involved in a romantic relationship." Telling him that, however only got him to look away from her. Sakura sighed and continued. "I'm going to assume that Naruto had something to do with you going out with that girl?"

"He wants me to use her as a damn baby factory. He's no better than the stupid villagers." Sasuke mumbled angrily, unaware of the expression of rage crawling across his pink-haired friend's face.

Sakura simply couldn't stop herself. She slapped the Uchiha across the face. And not with some dainty little tap, though she did manage to keep from using all her strength. The result of Sakura's chakra-filled slap left Sasuke crumpled on the floor half in and half out of the cabinet that had caved in when he hit it. Shaking his head, he looked up at the pink-haired girl in pure shock.

"Don't you ever say something like that, Sasuke!" Sakura yelled, anger pulsing through her body. "I understand you're in a lot of pain right now, and I understand that you don't want to admit it, but here's some advice for you." She jutted her chin up in an act of pure defiance, sending strands of pink hair behind her shoulder. "Never say anything remotely like that about Naruto around someone who is more his friend than yours."

She kept on, ignoring Sasuke's stunned look with that comment. "I am very aware of how I used to be around you, but that little girl has grown up. Now I think it's time that you grow up, too. I know you came back to find out what kind of person you really are, but all you've proven recently is that you're too scared to open your eyes to what you have around you and who you can be. Don't you see that who you are is only part of the equation? Who you are capable of being is also a big part of it? All of us stupid girls romanticized about who we thought we could make you into. But Naruto, Naruto accepted who you are and did everything in his power to help you see your own potential! So don't ever speak badly of him."

Sasuke was getting tired of all the lectures, people telling him what was right for his life when they knew nothing about him. "So I'm not friend material, huh? Doesn't that prove that I'm a bastard? So why should I care?" Sasuke asked as he picked himself up. The left side of his face ached painfully, but thankfully, he didn't appear to be bleeding anywhere.

Sakura heaved an exasperated sigh. "I am your friend, Sasuke, even when you wanted nothing to do with me, I was always your friend. If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here trying to help."

Sasuke snorted. "That can be explained simply because you are Naruto's friend. Don't friends want each other to be happy or some sappy crap like that?" Sakura actually

smiled at that. Sasuke wasn't sure if that was an improvement.

"If all I wanted was Naruto's happiness, I would have simply beat you up for going out with some girl when you're supposed to be dating Naruto. The fact that I haven't should show you that I want you to be happy, too."

Sasuke desperately wanted to argue with her, but found that he was simply too drained at the moment. _Stupid hormones and stupid emotions,_ Sasuke thought irritably. He kept getting riled up to the point it exhausted him.

"Naruto loves you," Sakura said quietly. "You're not aware of it, but a couple of days ago he came to me and asked me to explain to him what love is. He had this idea that I could explain it as simply as I did when I explained the logistics of a wedding."

Sasuke's dark eyes watched her for a few seconds before he turned away. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. His stomach seemed hollowed out at the thought that Naruto knew so little about love that he had to go to someone to explain it to him. Sasuke at least knew what it was like to love someone else. He had parents, cousins like Kazuo, and yes, he'd admit that he had even loved Itachi. Sasuke suddenly realized that he had stopped trying to understand his feelings for Naruto at some point, as if he was afraid he would come to love the blond. Sasuke closed his eyes for a second as he decided that he was just sick and tired of thinking about all of it.

One thing he did note, though, was that Naruto had gone to see Sakura the same day he had told him to go out with Mariko. Sasuke wondered if Naruto's discussion with Sakura had made the blond realize that he wasn't in love with him. Not that he cared. He was going to find some woman to help him repopulate his clan, and if he were ever in the mood to fuck Naruto he'd just manipulate the blond into putting out. But thinking that way made his stomach churn and ache, something he firmly blamed on Naruto. Sasuke remembered how Naruto wanted the people he cared about to be happy, so that would mean that he did, in fact, care a lot for Sasuke, especially if he was willing to deny himself happiness. But didn't he do something similar with Hinata? Except, Sasuke realized, with Hinata, Naruto never allowed anything to begin. So the most likely explanation was that Naruto had suddenly got scared, but of what?

"Kakashi was wrong." Sasuke whispered, mostly to himself. Naruto _doesn't_ know how to handle being happy.

"That's a shocker." Sakura said sarcastically. "But it does sound like you've made some progress. Are you going to be alright?"

Sasuke looked up at the girl, feeling somewhat grateful, and nodded.

"Well, I need to be getting home, I need to talk to Lee about something."

Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. "I thought he hadn't moved in yet."

Sakura blushed but smiled. "Not officially." With that she got up to leave. With one reassuring squeeze to his shoulder, the pink-haired nin was gone.

Sasuke sneezed. _Wonderful, now I'm sick_, Sasuke thought miserably. He blamed that on Naruto, too, because the dumb blond wasn't able to handle being happy. It was like he didn't know what to do if he was gaining some joy that wasn't through something or someone else. Naruto was driving him nuts. And all this thinking was making him feel like someone was taking a sledgehammer to his cranium.

Sasuke clenched his hands into fists so hard he was sure he was going to draw blood. He knew what he had to do, but he wasn't sure if he could. All of his emotions were running wild, his fists shook slightly, and his jaw was starting to throb from having it locked for so long. In a fit of growing rage that had been bottling up to this point, Sasuke slammed both fists onto the counter before storming out of his home. It may not be something a well-adjusted person might do, but he was going to beat some sense into his blond.

-------

"What the – hell – are you – doing, Sasu – ke?" Naruto stammered as he saw spots dance in front of his eyes before the Uchiha again fisted the blond's already abused and torn shirt.

"What the fuck took you so long to answer?" Sasuke growled, vaguely aware that he was veering away from his original topic. But he had been pounding on the dobe's door for nearly five minutes. His crimson eyes swept around the room to make sure Naruto was really alone before veering back to the blond accusingly.

"I was being cautious, jackass! What did you think?" Naruto pushed hard against the other teen but that only succeeded in stretching out his shirt even more.

Sasuke glared at the other boy, his sharingan still activated as his heated blood coursed angrily throughout his body. "I don't know, dobe, maybe that you were in a cave somewhere having Kyuubi ripped out of you! You're lights are off, there's no sign of life, there's a group of psychotics after you! Are you trying to piss me off?" His voice rose an octave, the stress of the day funneling all of his emotions as he projected his anger toward the one person who might truly care about him.

"If you were so worried, why the hell didn't you just break in?" Naruto yelled back, confused about Sasuke's violent reaction.

"I was about to when you opened the door!" Sasuke screamed back.

Naruto was finally able to dislodge the irate Uchiha and put some space between them. But before he could breath a sigh of relief, he was slammed back into the wall and held there by lips that furiously pressed into his.

Despite the utter aggression behind the move, a part of the blond wept in joy at feeling the other teen pressed against him. Sasuke's soaked clothes were seeping into his, and goose bumps rose all over his body as the chill touched him. The blond gasped in shock, and Sasuke took advantage of it by sucking on Naruto's tongue. Naruto moaned, the noise slipping out before he could stop himself, and Sasuke responded by pressing closer. But then Sasuke's mouth was gone, and before he could react, Naruto's head was slammed painfully hard against the wall.

"Owwww," Naruto whined. He looked at the Uchiha in confusion. He was being kissed one minute, and the next he was being thrown against a wall. "What the hell was that for asshole?!" Naruto cradled his aching head in his hands as Sasuke stood back, staring at him with an expression that caused the blond's heart to skip a beat.

"For tormenting me." Sasuke gritted through clenched teeth.

His movements jerky with anger, Sasuke slammed and locked the door, small puddles of water forming on the floor from it having been left open. He then moved to replace the katana on its holder. When he turned around, Naruto was still cradling his head, glaring at him.

"I'm tormenting you? I'm the one who was just assaulted! What, is it your time of the month to get all bitchy? What is with the mood swings, Sasuke?" Naruto demanded as he pushed himself off from the wall.

Sasuke glared hard at the blond but chose to ignore the blond's question. "You deserve every beating I give you." He said coldly.

Naruto's blond brows furrowed as he attempted to figure out just what Sasuke's problem was. "What, did your date go that bad?"

The moment the words were out of his mouth, Naruto knew he had made a mistake.

The words themselves were already sharp like a knife to the gut, but he had said them with a biting, bitter tone, almost in an attempt to make the wound fester.

Sasuke liked the words even less. In the next instant, Naruto found himself doubled over, the fist to his stomach causing him to bite his tongue. Spitting blood from his mouth, Naruto grabbed hold of Sasuke's wrist and flipped the dark haired teen onto his back in one quick show of strength. Sasuke was quick to get his feet under him, too quick for Naruto to defend himself from the sweeping leg that knocked his feet out from under him.

Naruto landed with a thud, rolling away just in time to keep Sasuke from pinning him to the ground. Grunting, Naruto kept rolling and managed to sit up before Sasuke's left fist collided with his cheek. Rather than fight the impact, Naruto went with it, landing flat on his back at the same time his knee came up and slammed into the underside of Sasuke's jaw. Naruto heard the satisfactory clink of Sasuke's teeth coming together, followed by a grunt that told the blond that Sasuke had just been laid out flat on his back, as well.

"Idiot." Sasuke spat along with some blood from biting his own tongue.

"Asshole." Naruto shot back from his position on the floor.

Silence stretched between the two people in the room, even the skies quieted for a few moments almost in sympathy. "You do torment me." Sasuke finally said. The words were almost drowned out by a sudden loud crack of thunder, but Naruto had heard.

"All I've done is try to make you happy." Naruto said quietly, pulling himself up into a sitting position. Blue eyes met red, but Sasuke made no attempt to sit up. Bright red blood stained his lips and the corners of his mouth.

"And done everything to keep yourself from being happy." Sasuke said, his eyes unwavering.

Naruto, however, couldn't maintain the eye contact. He looked around the still darkened living room of his home and took in the bare walls and sparse possessions. The items and furniture that actually littered the room were those of Sasuke's heritage, not his own, for the simple fact that he had none. Naruto considered as he looked everywhere but at the Uchiha that Sasuke had been born into a world of everything while Naruto had been born into a world of nothing, and part of Naruto's unconscious had tried to maintain the separation. Naruto wasn't stupid enough to realize that something stronger than friendship was growing between them, and at a frightening pace. In truth, it terrified Naruto, because he was afraid that he didn't want to touch heaven only to lose it. And he would lose it; Sasuke wanted something he couldn't give him. Naruto had seen it in the Uchiha's eyes, in the way his hands moved to build something befitting a more beautiful future. All these years Naruto wasn't fighting to make his future a bright one. All he wanted, all he hoped for, was that Sasuke realize what potential lay ahead for him. But that didn't mean he wouldn't be happy as well, even if it was only a little.

"You're wrong," Naruto's voice dripped with a newly revived heat. "I want to be happy, Sasuke. I simply see more levels to it than one. I need your happiness above my own, yours more than anyone's. But that doesn't mean I can't be happy in my own right!"

"And being my whore would make you happy?" The words were cold and held no inflection, but Naruto's head shot up, eyes widening in shock at how close

Sasuke was now. The Uchiha had gotten on to he hands and knees and crawled so close to Naruto that their faces were only inches apart. "Don't look so surprised, Uzumaki. You and I both know we have crossed a bridge and cannot go back. I wouldn't even if I could." His words rippled with bone deep conviction.

"I wouldn't either, but I can survive on what little happiness I'm given. I've been doing it for a while now." Naruto retorted, dejection filling the void as his anger and confusion dissipated.

"And yet you won't you accept that I want to give it all to you? Everything and more, all that I can?" Sasuke growled in annoyance. He moved to straddle Naruto's legs and once again grabbed a hold of the blond's abused shirt. A solid jerk to Naruto's top forced the blond to meet Sasuke's still red eyes.

"But you want-" Naruto started.

"Shut up about kids, Naruto," Sasuke interrupted. "There are other ways to get kids!"

"But what ab-"

"I don't care about anything else, dobe, so stop making excuses." Sasuke was seriously close to being at the end of his rope. He was going to snap if Naruto tried making any more ridiculous excuses.

"Sasuke," Naruto whispered before his voice grew louder. "I can't make you happy, damnit!" He practically yelled into Sasuke's face.

Sasuke snapped at that admission. Using more force than he intended, Sasuke pushed Naruto down flat so hard that the blond's head bounced on the hard wood floor. Naruto keened in pain. Sasuke leaned down to make sure Naruto's attention would be solely focused on his face.

"Now listen here, Naruto, you will damn well let me decide what does and doesn't make me happy. Understood?" Naruto's dazed mind was amazed by the Uchiha's ability to form words without unlocking his jaw.

"Fuck, fine, just stop destroying my brain cells you asshole." Naruto tried to move his hands up to press into the sides of his aching skull, but Sasuke grabbed his wrists and pinned them to the floor next to his head.

Sasuke smirked. "Good. Now since I gave into you and went on that stupid date, you're going to now give in and do something I want to do."

Before Naruto could say anything, Sasuke pressed his lips against Naruto's. It wasn't a light kiss, either. For a few seconds, Naruto saw stars as his head rallied against more mistreatment. Naruto was fully prepared to kick the Uchiha off of him until Sasuke shifted higher, bringing their groins into contact. Sasuke's hips grinded against him, causing heat to pool near his abdomen, which was surprising considering the Uchiha was still wearing his soaking clothes. A few slow rolls of Sasuke's hips left Naruto's pants soaked and both of their shafts half hard.

Sasuke shifted again, letting go of Naruto's hands and settling himself more fully on top of the blond. Naruto groaned slightly into Sasuke's mouth as the dark-haired teen continued to rub against him.

Now that his hands were free, Naruto gripped Sasuke's ass, forcing them closer and creating a delicious friction between them. Unfortunately, it also caused him to become just as drenched as Sasuke. Cold water seeped through, sending a shock of pleasure up his spine as it caused rippling sensations when the wet fabric brushed against his overheated member. He hissed Sasuke's name in response. Without much thought, one of Naruto's hands buried itself in Sasuke's dampened locks, and he forced their mouths apart. A primal growl released itself from Sasuke's chest, and the boy narrowed his eyes at Naruto.

"Off." Naruto breathed as his free hand attempted to push Sasuke's pants over the teen's narrow hips. Sasuke got the drift and sat back up in order to undo his pants. While Sasuke was busy with his pants, Naruto peeled the Uchiha's shirt away from his torso. Sasuke was forced to shift off the blond as he finished pulling his pants and shirt off. Naruto rolled onto his hands and knees and crawled away. Sasuke dropped his clothes to the floor with a splat and prepared to yell at Naruto for trying to escape. Before he could let loose his displeasure, though, Naruto stopped next to the couch and pulled his shirt off. Smirking, Sasuke got up and yanked the blond up and onto the couch.

"Hey! Damnit, watch the head, asshole." Naruto yelled in indignation.

"I'm more interested in another part of you right now, dobe." Sasuke couldn't help smirking as he jerked Naruto's pants off and tossed them across the room.

Naruto attempted to pout, but Sasuke quickly returned to his previous position by straddling the blond's thighs. When Sasuke's soaked boxer briefs touched Naruto's hard member the blond practically shrieked.

In one quick move, Naruto reversed their positions. Rather than try and strip the offending garment off the Uchiha, Naruto took a firm grip of the fabric with his hands and ripped the underwear to pieces. Sasuke was fine with that since this way didn't require that he move his legs from around Naruto's hips.

Naruto bent down to press his lips to the other teen's. This time, when their lips met, so did another sensitive area. Both boys groaned as pure lust shot through them.

Sasuke's legs tightened instinctively around Naruto's lean hips, his back arching.

Naruto gripped Sasuke's biceps as he glanced down to where their erections rubbed intimately against each other. Blue eyes dilated at the erotic image that was instantly burned into his memory, and the muscles under Naruto's tanned flesh flexed as he shifted ever so slightly. Sasuke threw back his head and moaned in pure ecstasy. Pale hips shot off the couch in an attempt to maintain the blissful contact only to be forced down by Naruto's bronzed ones.

Both boys started to roll their hips experimentally, and after a few erratic and awkward moments the two settled into a slow grind that prolonged their pleasure. Naruto latched onto Sasuke's neck with his teeth as the raven's fingernails dug into Naruto's back and shoulders. Sasuke's hands slipped on Naruto's sweaty back and left long red marks on the blond's flawless skin. One of his hands came up and gripped the back of Naruto's neck as the blond began to suck hard on the long cords of his throat.

Sasuke grunted as his legs wrapped completely around Naruto's waist, crossing them at the ankles just below the blond's ass. With his one free hand, Sasuke gripped one of the blonde's ass cheeks and yanked Naruto closer. Naruto shifted his hands so that he was balanced on one of his elbows. A tan hand buried itself in Sasuke's raven locks in an attempt to keep the Uchiha's head in place, so he could continue to ravish the boy's neck. Another hand returned Sasuke's favor by tunneling between the dark haired teen and the cushions in order to grip the Uchiha's ass.

Sasuke growled once again when he realized Naruto's grip in his hair was preventing him from capturing the blond's lips. As wonderful as it felt for Naruto to devour his neck he really wanted to shove his tongue down Naruto's throat instead. The hand on Naruto's ass squeezed him painfully hard before shifting closer toward his crack. A finger ghosted over Naruto's entrance, which caused the blond's head to shoot up. Naruto growled right before Sasuke took advantage of the blond's shock and used his grip on the back of his neck to slam their mouths together. Their slow grind turned into an all out pounding as their tongues warred with each other. Naruto wrapped the hand that had been on Sasuke's ass around the Uchiha's waist. With the better grip, Naruto ground his pelvis down hard onto Sasuke's to the point that he was shocked their skin hadn't melted together.

Both of Sasuke's hands were now clenched in Naruto's blond hair as their fervent thrusting became more needy. Sasuke felt as if his very skin was on fire and figured Naruto didn't feel much different. Between booms of thunder the sound of grunting, moaning and heavy breathing could be heard. Naruto's head was already starting to throb in anticipation of the mind-blowing orgasm that was building within him. All of the blond's muscles strained to the point that he was shaking. Suddenly, both Sasuke's hands shot down to grip Naruto's ass as his body arched into the blond's. Sasuke's neck was once again presented to Naruto's mouth when he threw his head back, screaming while he came hard. The blond took Sasuke up on his offer and bit down hard on the side of the Uchiha's pale neck. Naruto released him only to bury his own face into the cushions next to Sasuke's neck as he groaned loudly, the warm wetness that followed causing their flushed skin to stick together.

For a few brief seconds, the two bodies on the couch were frozen in place. Sasuke was the first one to collapse back into the cushions. His labored breathing combined with Naruto's as the blond sank down as well. Not wanting to smother the other teen, Naruto twisted at the waist so that his side rested on the cushions next to Sasuke but still maintained the connection of their lower halves. Slowly, Sasuke unlocked his legs from around Naruto's waist. The Uchiha's heart still felt like it was trying to pound it's way out of his chest, and his head felt oddly light. Naruto's breathing slowed, and he cracked open his blue eyes to look at his lover. After a few minutes, Naruto realized that Sasuke was taking a long time to get his breathing under control. Propping himself up, he looked down at Sasuke's face and noticed that not only was the Uchiha still flushed, but he had begun shaking slightly.

"Sasuke?" Naruto frowned as the dark-haired teen cracked open his eyes. "What's wrong?" Sasuke didn't seem to really register what Naruto said, but his body started to convulse even more. Naruto sat up in shock just as Sasuke started coughing violently. "Fuck, how long were you outside in the rain, Sasuke?"

"A while." Sasuke managed as he continued to wheeze and cough. Sasuke felt Naruto's hand come up to rest on his forehead but that was the last coherent thought he had before his body finally shut down, and he slipped into unconsciousness.

----

Some hours later, Sasuke woke up to a darkened room. The first thing he noted was that it was still storming outside. Lightning kept causing the ceiling to light up eerily. The second thing he noticed was that he was in a bed. It didn't take much for him to realize that it was Naruto's bed. The strong scent of jasmine reached his nose, which was made only stronger by the rain. Turning his head, Sasuke saw that he was not only alone but that Naruto had apparently drugged him. Several bottles of medicine adorned the nightstand. Sasuke figured the blond hadn't known which medicine to give him and could only hope that the dobe hadn't given it all to him.

Shifting in the bed, Sasuke took stock of his body. His head felt much better, and he didn't feel unnaturally warm anymore. His body also wasn't shaking anymore, which was a very good sign. As images of what had transpired before he passed out flickered in his mind, Sasuke couldn't help but groan in horror. Had he actually passed out after getting off with Naruto? Sasuke groaned again, his eyes glaring at the ceiling as if he could intimidate whatever god was laughing at his predicament.

A clap of thunder followed another bright streak of lightning, and for some reason the room shifted slightly. Sasuke blinked, and his brows drew together in concentration. The room didn't shift, but something did. It was almost as if the flow of chakra in the room changed, but it would have to be very miniscule for Sasuke not to pick up on it immediately, almost as if someone was masking it.

Sasuke shot up in bed, his dark eyes bleeding to red as they swept the room – only to connect with equally red eyes. Standing next to the far window, partially concealed by the shadows, stood the person that haunted Sasuke's dreams.

"Itachi."

--------------------

Hahahahaha, I like cliff hangers! They are soooo much fun. There's only one more chapter to go, now all I have to do is decide when to post it. I'm so evil.


	8. Soul Mates

Story: Come Home With Me  
Chapter: Soul Mates  
Author: Sarah Keller  
BETA: Rasengan22  
Genre: Romance/Psychological Drama  
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto hence why this is a FANFIC  
Warnings: Yaoi! Adult situations, violence, language, RATED R  
Pairings: NaruSasuNaru  
Author's note: For clarification purposes, since it isn't stated outright in the text. Sasuke and Naruto are 18-19 years old.

------------------------------

Even when Sasuke said his name, Itachi didn't react. He remained as still as a statue, and anyone else would have doubted what they saw, but Sasuke knew better. Itachi's sharingan eyes never wavered from Sasuke's, and the two brothers remained at an impasse for several seconds. As the shock finally wore off from Sasuke's mind, rage began to fill his being. Sasuke quickly gauged his chances against the missing nin and realized that he probably couldn't kill Itachi unless he was willing to make some severe sacrifices to his person. But as the rage began to swell and his burning hatred pushed all other thoughts out, Sasuke really couldn't find a reason to care. If it would bring about Itachi's demise, Sasuke would sacrifice whatever it took.

Itachi's crimson eyes shifted away from Sasuke and swept the room before returning to gaze blankly at his younger brother who had yet to move out of his bed. The barest twitch of the corner of Itachi's mouth belied the smirk the oldest living Uchiha made. As Sasuke had discovered recently, many people could withstand his own glares, but all it took was a minute movement of Itachi's lips to make even Sasuke shudder. Moving as carefully as possible, Sasuke slid out of bed, taking the time to note everything in the room that could be used as a weapon. Only Itachi's eyes followed the movements and only the claps of fading thunder could be heard.

Sasuke's world had shrunk to only this room, only this man that he desperately wanted to kill. As Sasuke straightened to his full height next to the bed, he noted an odd sensation and shifted in an attempt to figure out what was off. All it took was the sliding of something silky between his thighs for reality to come crashing down on Sasuke. Naruto was the one that had a thing for boxers; Sasuke always wore the snugger boxer-briefs. Sasuke's red eyes swept the room again and this time he remembered that he wasn't in his home, that Itachi wasn't standing in his bedroom.

Naruto. That one word brought about a wealth of emotions in the younger Uchiha. His jaw tightened, and his teeth began to grind as the connotations of what was happening finally broke through his anger-filled mind. Itachi was in Naruto's bedroom, which could only mean that Kisame was also nearby. They had come to take Naruto, to rip the Kyuubi out of him and leave his body to cool in some unknown place. Sasuke's stomach began to churn as he realized that his plan had worked. By having Naruto move into the Uchiha compound, they had managed to draw his older brother onto their own turf.

Sasuke knew that he had promised to let Naruto and the others help in the eliminating of Itachi, but he couldn't help but hesitate. If he alerted them, Naruto would come running right into Itachi's grasp. That is, if Kisame didn't already have the blond. Sasuke mentally cursed as his mind tried to decide what to do. It really came down to what Sasuke's goal was at this moment; kill Itachi or protect Naruto. Sasuke tried to reason that by killing Itachi he would be protecting Naruto in the long run, but even he knew that it would do Naruto no good if Kisame already had him.

A small glint across the room grabbed Sasuke's attention and his eyes narrowed as he watched Itachi smirk at him. Despite the fact that his lips had moved and that he could see a slice of teeth, the smirk never reached Itachi's eyes. Those blood red eyes never changed, they remained as stoic and dead as always. Sasuke cringed inwardly as he realized that Itachi's smirk was nothing more then a mimic of his own; it showed that Itachi could only mirror human emotion because he had none of his own.

Precious seconds went by as Sasuke tried to decide what to do. Out of the silence came a sound of clanking like something heavy falling to the ground. Even though the sound came from downstairs, it was made deafening in the tense atmosphere as well as the sound that followed. A soft voice declared 'Shit' in response to the clatter and Sasuke's eyes widened. Despite the distance, Naruto's voice was distinct. Sasuke gauged the blond to be either in or near the living room. The way he had tried to stifle his voice gave the clear impression that the blond didn't know that Itachi was in the house.

When Sasuke's eyes focused on Itachi again his breathing stopped. The ghastly smirk was still in place, but this time there was a slight gleam in his red eyes. Those eyes told Sasuke that his brother was about to strike, that adrenaline had already flooded his system. Most importantly it told Sasuke that he was running out of time. With an unearthly silence, Itachi struck. His cloaked figure darted across the room, slamming Sasuke back into the wall with enough force to crack the wood.

Sasuke ignored as much of the pain he could. His shoulders and back burned at the crushing contact, but years of missions and training had prepared him for this moment. He twisted in Itachi's grip just enough to slam his elbow into the underside of his older brother's jaw. Itachi's head snapped back in the same instant that his knee smashed into Sasuke's side. Sasuke doubled over in pain but had mind enough to plant his bare feet on the wall and push off enough to flip over and out of Itachi's grip. Rolling to the floor, Sasuke twisted and shot his left leg straight out behind him. His heel connected soundly with the back of Itachi's knee. Though the knee buckled, Itachi's other knee kept him standing.

"Sasuke?" Naruto's voice carried up the stairs. The blond was probably confused by the racket coming from his bedroom.

Naruto's voice spurred Sasuke on; he swept out another leg, this time it was aimed at Itachi's head. With an ease that infuriated Sasuke, Itachi caught his calf and used his grip to slam him into the bureau. The wood piece of furniture shattered. Sasuke grunted when a large piece actually stabbed him in the back. Taking precious seconds, Sasuke scanned the room. Itachi grabbed a hold of Sasuke's neck and used his grip to pick up the younger man and once again slammed him into the wall. The piece of wood embedded in his back went even deeper causing a strangled groan to come from Sasuke's abused throat.

"Sasuke!" The pounding of feet coming up the stairs followed Naruto's yell.

If Sasuke could have cursed, he would have at how idiotic Naruto could be. He couldn't believe that all the years of stealth training never sunk in the blond's head. Naruto was responding the same way he had when they fought Haku. But the one emotion overriding Sasuke's anger at how stupid Naruto could be was a blind panic. Naruto was going to walk in on his fight with Itachi, and by the way Itachi's eyes kept shifting to the door, he was going to take advantage of the situation.

It took a fraction of a second to decide what Sasuke's goal was and he did it without giving it any more thought. Sasuke's hands came up and clawed at his brother's face even as Itachi's hand around his neck tightened. Almost frantic, Sasuke got a firm hold of Itachi's scratched forehead protector and using all the strength he could muster, hurled the item at Naruto's bedside table. Glass shattered and a lamp clattered to the ground, but it was the sudden ear piercing wailing that followed that gave some relief to the youngest Uchiha. Even Itachi flinched from the sudden noise, which gave Sasuke just enough time to mold his chakra. The sound of birds chirping drowned out the siren for a few seconds before Chidori Nagashi exploded from around his body.

Itachi was instantly thrown across the room, smoke rising from the folds of his cloak. Sasuke got some satisfaction from the grunting noise coming from his brother, but then his chakra waned suddenly to the point that his sharingan started to fail. Through will alone Sasuke managed to keep his eyes red, but he knew that he couldn't fight Itachi anymore. The combined stress from fighting, being sick, and whatever medications Naruto had given him were taking their toll. A loud clanking sound drew Sasuke's attention to his right only to see that Naruto had slid open the door and was standing wide eyed in the doorway.

Sasuke actually growled at the blond but a sudden heat reminded him that he shouldn't have taken his eyes off his older brother. Throwing himself towards the blond, Sasuke shoved them both out of the room and into the hallway. Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw the waves of flame engulf the bedroom. The room practically exploded as the two teens hit the floor. Sasuke unconsciously covered Naruto as flaming bits of wood rained down around them. Even as the wood and fragments fell around them, Sasuke was pushing himself off the ground and pulling Naruto with him. They ran down the hall and Sasuke was vaguely aware that Naruto was yelling but only one thought was running over and over in his head, 'get Naruto away, keep him safe.'

In Sasuke's mind, Itachi had been reduced to just another of the other people out to hurt his blond. Sasuke knew Itachi's goals and just to what depths he would go to achieve them, but other than that, Sasuke no longer felt the overbearing need to hunt down and maim the man. As they reached the landing, they were met with a disheveled looking Sakura and Lee. A swarm of chakra around the house told Sasuke that the ANBU had finally arrived. Sasuke doubted very much that Itachi was still around, but by the sounds coming from the back of Naruto's house, he guessed Kisame had finally made an appearance. Lee sprinted past them and into the charred room. Sakura glanced at her two former teammates before going after Lee. Naruto attempted to follow, but Sasuke's grip on his arm refused to let him go.

"Let go, Sasuke, we need to go after Itachi!" Naruto tried to pull Sasuke along, back towards the remains of his bedroom, but Sasuke only tightened his grip, yanking Naruto back towards him.

"No, he's not important." Sasuke shook his head but knew that every word leaving his mouth was true. Sasuke needed to make sure Naruto was okay, that he was safe. He would protect the blond even from his own stupidity.

"What-" Naruto was cut off as even more ninja filled the house. They could see several ANBU searching the downstairs from their spot at the top of the stairs. Iruka came running up the stairs, eyeing Naruto in an attempt to make sure he was alright.

"Where's Kakashi?" Naruto asked their former teacher.

"Out searching with the others. It seems both Kisame and Itachi have fled." Iruka said as he came to a stop in front of them. He gripped Naruto's free arm when the blond twitched like he wanted to go out after the two Akatsuki members as well.

"Damnit, Sasuke! Why didn't you let me go after him!" Naruto demanded hotly. His arms jerked against both men's hold on him.

"Because I will not hand you over to him on a silver fucking platter! Sasuke yelled back, which only seemed to fuel Naruto's anger.

"Naruto!" Iruka yelled to get the blond's attention. "You have to remember that it's you they're after, and if they get a hold of you, they will become a bigger threat to this village! If you really want to protect the people here, you need to know when to protect yourself and not run into a fight!"

Both Sasuke and Naruto blinked at Iruka's harsh words. It sounded more like he was delivering an order rather then giving a lesson, and Sasuke was reminded of the way Iruka would yell at Naruto back when they were still students at the academy. Naruto seemed to deflate after Iruka's outburst. He dropped his eyes to the floor in defeat, knowing that Iruka was right. He would do anything to prevent the Akatsuki from getting a hold of Kyuubi. Part of him was relieved at the amount of trust Sasuke had unconsciously shown their friends when they had come to their rescue. The fact that

Sasuke wasn't attempting to go after Itachi on his own made Naruto feel lighter, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

As he gazed down, Naruto noticed that something was dripping onto the floor near Sasuke's bare feet. His blue eyes widened in shock as they trekked up Sasuke's legs. Blood was dribbling down the back of the dark haired teen's calves; his borrowed boxers clung wetly to the back of his thighs and butt. Naruto twisted the arm Sasuke was holding until he could turn Sasuke slightly away from him in order to get a better look at the boy's back. What he saw there made him gasp in shock. No more than a couple of inches from Sasuke's lower spine was a piece of wood that looked like it had once been part of his dresser. The piece stuck out maybe four inches and was three inches wide where it penetrated his skin. Blood bubbled out of the wound at a steady rate, dribbling down Sasuke's back and staining his porcelain skin an angry red.

"Sasuke!" The young Uchiha swayed slightly after Naruto's cry reminded him that he was seriously injured. The adrenaline in his system dropped dramatically, almost bringing him to his knees as his back started throbbing. Looking down, Sasuke noticed how a spot underneath his rib cage bulged out slightly and he realized that the piece of wood was probably only a hairs breadth away from running him completely through. Vaguely, Sasuke was aware of both Naruto and Iruka taking a hold of him at the same time he noted that his skin felt hot again. 'Wonderful' the young Uchiha thought sarcastically as his body shut down sending him into darkness a second time that night.

---------------------------

"Moron."

"Loser."

"Asshole." Naruto shot back, glaring at his boyfriend. Mentally the blond stuck out his tongue in disgust. It sounded so weird to use that word when referring to Sasuke, even in his mind.

"Hn." Sasuke didn't once look at Naruto, which annoyed the blond almost as much as Sasuke's response.

"I can't believe you didn't tell Sakura you where injured when she first showed up." Naruto huffed in frustration.

"And I can't believe that you walked into a room unarmed when you knew people were fighting inside. Oh no, the next great Hokage has to reserve that right for when I knock on his front door!" Sasuke practically yelled.

"Yeah well, I just figured you were falling down since you were so out of it when I carried you up there!"

"That has got to be the stupidest thing you have ever said!" This time Sasuke did look at his blond, and whacked him up side the head as well.

"Ow! You have to be nice to me now!" Naruto cradled his head as he pouted at the Uchiha.

"And why would I start all of the sudden?" Sasuke asked in mock curiosity.

Rather than answer, Naruto gave Sasuke a disgruntled look. "Geez, Sasuke, with all the hits you deal out to my head, I'm starting to believe you want me as some mindless sex toy."

Sasuke blinked his dark-colored eyes at the blond. He was fully aware that Naruto was trying to sound annoyed, but the images that bombarded his mind were strangely arousing. Sasuke swore as he cradled his own head in his hands. He mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "Damnit, Kakashi has ruined me" to Naruto.

"Eh?" Naruto's face screwed up as he tried to figure out what Sasuke meant. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the obtuse blond. "AHH, pervert!" Naruto suddenly yelled. Sasuke only rolled his eyes again.

"Spare me your dramatics, dobe. I'm sure you've had a few of your own perverted thoughts thanks to Kakashi's 'lessons.' "

"EH! How did you know about that?" Naruto demanded.

"I found his 'notes' in your house while you were gone. Plus he admitted to it when I . . . made it clear that it would be in his best interest. I also made sure he understood it had to stop." Sasuke responded simply.

"Oh." Naruto wasn't sure what to say to that. Part of him was pissed Sasuke had been snooping; the other part of him was just plain embarrassed. He turned back to look over what was left of Naruto's garden. Between the storm, Kisame and Itachi, the whole garden was pretty much ruined. Naruto was eternally thankful that his meditation room had survived intact.

"You sound disappointed, dobe." Naruto's head whipped around only to widen when he realized that Sasuke had started to invade his personal space. "Don't worry, I have every intention of taking up your lessons."

Naruto's eyes widened as he felt a hand move up his thigh. "Sasuke, your wound, you shouldn-"

"Shut up, dobe." Sasuke breathed against Naruto's ear. "I thought we decided that you would stop telling me what to do."

"No, I said I'd stop telling you what you like and dislike. I have no intention of stopping you from doing stupid things to yourself." Naruto couldn't help but smile goofily as he pulled Sasuke closer and settled the dark-haired teen into a more comfortable position – straddling his thighs.

"I don't do stupid things to myself, dobe."

"Oh really, so giving up your body to Orochimaru was a top notch idea." Naruto wasn't able to keep the anger out of his voice and even Sasuke stiffened at the mention of the snake sannin's name.

"Fine, I'll admit I haven't made some great decisions in the past." Sasuke grudgingly admitted.

"Wow, I bet that hurt to admit." That remark earned him a swat to the head. "Damnit, stop hitting me."

"Stop saying stupid things. And just so we're both clear, you and me being together is a good thing. No more second thoughts."

"Oh, I plan on having second, third and fourth thoughts. After all, you're a bastard. But I'll try talking to you first before freaking out." Sasuke rolled his eyes again but decided that was pretty accurate for the both of them.

"The whole using you as bait is over, Naruto. It seems I've decided that you're more important than revenge against Itachi." Naruto blushed a little at Sasuke's bluntness, but he nodded his understanding.

"I figured that out when you refused to let me go after him. I also know that the time will come when you will face him. I just want you to trust me enough to face him with you." Dark eyes locked with blue ones as both boys tried to come to terms with the sea of unfamiliar emotions.

Abruptly, Sasuke broke eye contact by leaning forward. Their eyes closed as their mouths came into contact, but unlike their previous kisses, this one was soft and reassuring, a promise that there would be ample time in the future for many more kisses. Naruto's hands came up to grip Sasuke's shoulders, ever mindful of the Uchiha's wound, while Sasuke wrapped his arms around the blond's back.

"I trust you, Naruto, because I love you." Sasuke whispered against Naruto's lips. The blond's eyes shot open in shock. His eyes gazed into Sasuke searching for the truth in them. Sasuke wasn't sure what Naruto saw in his eyes, but he was shocked when Naruto's eyes teared up. "Fuck, Naruto, that's not a reason to cry."

"Well, I apologize, teme. It's just that you're the first person to say that to me." Naruto attempted to stop the tears, but a few escaped and Sasuke sighed as he clumsily helped to wipe the tears away.

Sasuke shifted off of Naruto's lap only to pull Naruto to sit between his own. It didn't take much to coax the blond into leaning back into Sasuke's chest. Part of the Uchiha actually ached at the fact that Naruto had never had someone to tell him that he was loved, but the other part couldn't help but sigh at how Naruto turned everything into a drama.

"Sakura tried to explain to me what love was, but I don't think I understood it very well." Naruto paused, but Sasuke stayed silent; he'd wait for whatever his blond had to say. "But I do know that I have always wanted you in my future. I would do anything to give you whatever you want, and I feel guilty when I realize I can't. I'm not really sure if that's what love is, but if it is then I've loved you for a very long time."

"I'll happily take whatever you're willing to give me. And if you ever tell me to go out on a date with someone else, I will beat you into a coma." Sasuke stated simply as he tightened his arms around his blond's waist. Naruto snickered in response.

"Trust me, that will never happen again."

"Awwww, don't you two look so adorable." Both boys glared as Sakura walked over what had once been a piece of the wall surrounding Naruto's garden. "Strangely, your glares are pretty cute, too."

"Did you need something Sakura?" Sasuke said even though he wanted to yell at her to leave them alone. By the twinkle in her eyes Sasuke was pretty sure that she knew what he was thinking.

"Well, it was a pretty eventful night all around, but I wanted to run an idea by you before I left to go play doctor in the surrounding villages."

Naruto's blue eyes lit up in interest at Sakura's statement.

"Really? What's it about?" Naruto asked energetically.

"It actually has to do with you two. I know you two have enough problems, and I'm aware that Sasuke's, uh, date, was spurned from the whole children factor. So as a doctor I wanted to make sure you two were aware that not only is the option of adoption open to you two, but you can also have children through a surrogate mother. Now, now, both of you stay quite," Sakura said when both Sasuke and Naruto looked like they wanted to say something. "As a friend, I'm letting you know that you won't have to look far if you decide to use a surrogate mother." Both boys blinked at the pink-haired nin while sporting matching blushes.

"What about Lee?" Naruto asked quietly. A look of surprise crossed Sasuke's face when he realized that his blond had actually followed what Sakura said.

"Oh Lee was so excited that I was willing to help you two in your, and I quote, 'endeavor to fill the world with beautiful youth and the joy filled laughter of chibi shinobi.' Needless to say, he's ok with the idea. And I'm not saying that I'm going to sleep with either of you (1) or ignore my husband or any children Lee and I have. If you guys want me to be a surrogate, I will do it but only if you understand that the children will be your responsibility."

"But they'll still be your family." Naruto spoke up. Sakura smiled sweetly at the blond.

"Of course they will be, just like you two are already a part of my family." Sakura said.

Sasuke groaned when he realized that Naruto had started shaking in an unmistakable sign that he was crying again. Deciding to diffuse the water works, Sasuke slapped his blond upside the head. Naruto's head whipped around, and he glared at the dark-haired teen.

"Thank you Sakura, you've given us a lot to think about. But for right now, we'll put off any more talk of children." Sakura nodded in response to Sasuke's words, grinning when she noted that Naruto was still pouting about the cuff to his head.

"So how long do you think it'll take to repair Naruto's house?" Sakura asked as she surveyed what was left of the garden and back of Naruto's house.

"I suspect not long. After all, there wasn't much damage." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"What? My bedroom is practically gone!" Naruto shrieked in outrage.

"Oh really and how do you figure that?" Sakura said, ignoring the blond's outburst. Sasuke ignored it too.

"Because he's going to come home with me."

--------------------------------

**The End**

(1) She's implying that she'll go through in vitro fertilization.

Special thanks to everyone who has reviewed: (FF) lilpyroaussie, Hikari no Kurai, blue-genjutsu, AndreOfTheLand, Dark Iasha, kojika, Silver fox aka vash, Riyoku-kun, gossa, Prozacfairy, Endless Snow, blackstar angel, phantonsnow, mylastbreath92, FMA-lover16, Flurrie, Imari-chan, Ska Chick and Anime Freak, Sasuke 2006, twiztidchick666, Midoriyugi-chan, myinuyasha04, midnight shinning star, Thyphy, Jo, yllom21, xenlaru, chibikuro, rose-sama, chibi 2-chan, yukaishepards, marauding-stripes, oruchuban Ebichu, akumu keayo, Saiyuki Ookami, Lunamaru, stormraven, Cherry Daze, Mila Crazyx, hyperdude, SilverRose88, ramenweapon, kirloth, to love a heartless, fan, frogger666, gossa, Rachika, cerulean soul, Lee, Jo, YamiGodess, dragonprankster, akuma keayo, militantAngel23, sunako kanzaki, (AFF) Saphirexkatz, a-non-ee-mo-us, mija, devil lived, eirisbadluck, blisblop, yuriipii, anon, KakashiSanzo5790, lo, skyrail, liah, artemis, starry, anna, rei, raidaku, pixagi, jazzy, cassie, rasengan22, Neko-chan, angel, Leviathan, MeLaiya, Sugoii, Sango2Sakura, MazokuOnna, mel-chan, Nomme de Plume, ukestalker, Kagami no Namida, Stacy, Calamus, Yuri-san, call me, Shiva Ice, (TONFA) shaneth, spriggand, kibby, Twitch, wormbate, kiki15, false-image, littleolmee, recklessfire, marutonewbie, daisukekun, rasengan22, LeMoNLoVe, shadowdagger, Master C, aquapho, lunarya, AnaLaPana83, DK

Fun facts about this fanfic:

- Formatted, this story is 166 pages long and approximatly 39,100 words in length. Which is a lot considering this started out as a one-shot.  
- There are more acts of violence towards people's heads then any other body part.  
- I did no research for this story, save in one regard; I did a lot of research on food.  
- I started this story simply because I got bored while packing up my apartment.  
- There are refrences to at least 9 psychological disorders throughout the story.

Also, I do have a sequel planned out for this, but I have yet to start writing it. So if you'd like to know when it comes out, keep this story on your notification list and I'll add a "chapter" with the information on the new story so you can decide if you actually want to read it.

Thank you all for sticking with me through all this. I drew one last picture to go with this story, go to my profile to find the link to it.


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